Taylor Swift
by Nerwen Aldarion
Summary: Tony goes snooping through Ziva's desk and finds out one of her guilty pleasures. Her reaction gets him curious as to why these songs speak to her without even knowing that the reason might be himself.
1. Teardrops on My Guitar

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to the producers and Donald Bellisario, Taylor Swift and her songs belong to her not me.

A/N: I know what you are thinking. How the heck do you write an NCIS fic with a title called Taylor Swift? I'll tell you. I was driving in the car and the song Teardrops on My Guitar came on the radio and I realized how well this song fit during season 4 with Tony, Ziva and Jeanne. So that got me thinking about how these lyrics really spoke to Ziva and how Tony would find Taylor Swift silly and corny. Then I realized how much a lot of Taylor's other songs really fit Tony and Ziva and this little fic was born.

Each chapter is going to feature one song by Taylor Swift and will explain why it fits Tony and Ziva. I really do love Taylor Swift and I know a lot of people can relate to her songs. Just check it out. I hope you like it!

PS if you haven't listened to Taylor Swift, you need to! Check her out!

Oh and this is in no way related to Ripped From the Headlines, I'm still working on the follow up to that fic but with Exams coming up it might not be for a little while. I'll work on it during Christmas Break at the latest, I promise!

* * *

Taylor Swift

Chapter 1: Teardrops on My Guitar

"Where's the probie, Probie?" Tony asked as he sat down at his desk a bag of chips recently acquired from the vending machine in his hands.

McGee didn't even look up from his keyboard, "Copy machine," he told Tony, "Gibbs handed her another stack of paperwork…as if the hazing that you are giving her isn't bad enough."

"It is not hazing," Tony explained tossing a chip up in the air and catching it in his mouth, "It is a social ritual that explains who is the alpha, leader of the pack, the big dog, numero uno…"

"I guess that'd be Gibbs then," McGee said with a sly smile.

Tony glared at his friend, "Get back to work McGoogle."

Tim savored his victory but eyed the paperwork on his own desk in disgust, it was a hazard of the job, in between solving the cases of the naval officers of the United States there were always reports, court orders, and memos that needed to be done and none of it was considered to be fun.

Inspiration struck him as he eyed Ziva's empty desk, "I've got a date tonight," McGee said aloud.

"Well make sure you deflate her when you're done," Tony replied casually.

Tim rolled his eyes but ignored Tony's little joke, "You think I can get Ziva to do the paperwork on the Thompson's case."

"Absolutely not," Tony said and took a bit out of another potato chip.

"Why not?"

"Because the Probette is going to be busy doing _my_ paperwork on the Thompson case," Tony grinned devilishly.

McGee gave Tony a challenging gaze, "Not if I get to her first."

Tony just continued to smile confidently, "Let me explain something to you McGee," he said as he rose from his desk to stand next to Tim's, "Torturing the new probie isn't just a simple matter of getting them to do what you want, it is deep seated psychological warfare. A warfare that _I_ have refined to an art form."

"And that means?..."

Tony looked McGee right in the eye, "Don't even try to beat me McGee…you've only seen the tip of the iceberg of the tricks I could pull on you."

With a low chuckle Tony swept dramatically away from McGee's desk, having put the younger agent in his place now it was time to fulfill his own boredom and his eyes strayed toward Ziva's currently unoccupied desk.

She had been back at NCIS for over a month, her desk had been redecorated with her own little unique touches which meant that her things were littered the space. She hadn't spoken much about how her resignation from Mossad and her acceptance as an NCIS agent was doing on her family life but Tony could guess that it wasn't going over well. She also hadn't mention dating anyone since Michael Rivken so naturally Tony was curious about what was going on in the former Mossad Officer's life.

There was only one way to find out.

So Tony started to rifle through her draws and poking underneath the mountain of paperwork everyone had been dumping on Ziva since she had taken on the mantle of Probie. "Why are you snooping through Ziva's desk?" McGee asked.

Tony didn't even flinch but continued with his search, "I'm honing my investigative skills."

"By invading Ziva's privacy?"

Tony didn't reply but instead his fingertips brushed against Ziva's iPod which lay charging next to her computer. Looking at the device, Tony realized that he didn't know much about Ziva's taste in music, kind of surprising really since he knew Abby's favorite Goth rock bands, Tim's obsession with Barrie Manilow and Gibbs…well no one knew Gibb's taste in music if he had any at all.

He smiled at McGee brightly, "Look at what me and my investigative skills found."

McGee gave Tony a bored look, "Ziva's iPod…so?"

"So why don't we see what our favorite Israeli assassin listens to…the top ten best ways to decapitate someone maybe?" McGee didn't answer and Tony didn't care if he was interested or not. He thumbed through the iPod to the list of artists that Ziva had put on her player, there were a ton of Israeli artists that Tony didn't recognize, a pleasing surprise was Frank Sinatra, he was glad to see that Ziva had some taste in the music department but that thought was shattered only moments later when an unexpected name lit up the screen.

"Oh you've got to kidding me!" Tony exclaimed, partially with shock and partially with delight.

"What?!" McGee asked suddenly very curious as to what had Tony so excited.

"You are never going to guess who Ziva has on her iPod!"

"Tony!" The shrill sound of Ziva screaming as she spotted him from just outside the elevator made him whirl around, her iPod still clutched in his hand. "What are you doing?!"

"About to laugh my ass off," he admitted still chuckling gleefully.

"Give it back!" she said rushing over to her partner, ready to wrestle the device away from him.

Ziva was still holding a large stack of paperwork so Tony knew for the moment that he was safe from Ziva and her lethal weapon hands, instead he checked to the most played list, and was once again greeted by the same artist that Tony found hilarious. "Now Ziva seems to be very protective of her iPod McGee…could it be that she is embarrassed by her favorite artist?"

"I am not embarrassed by anything Tony," Ziva said dropping the paperwork on her desk and ready to tackle him to the ground, "I just do not like you going through _my_ things!"

"Really?" Tony asked still grinning like the Cheshire cat, "so you wouldn't mind that I told McGee that you listen to…"

"Tony do not---"

"…Taylor Swift!"

The name was out there, hanging in the air followed by a stunned silence that was punctuated by Tony happy grin and Ziva's visible wincing. McGee was looking at Ziva in astonishment, "You like Taylor Swift?!"

"That's right McGlee, our new Probie here is a country fan, not just any country music fan but the worst kind. The pre-teen pop country high school music genre."

Ziva shrugged trying to act like it didn't bother her, "So? I have a friend who likes her; she put it on my iPod."

"That friend must be really close because Taylor Swift is at the top of your most played list…how do you explain that?"

"Give me that!" Ziva growled and snatched the iPod out of Tony's hand, purposefully twisting his wrist painfully in the process.

The pain was worth it to Tony who was still savoring the fun of embarrassing Ziva, "What is it?" he asked, "I mean yeah she's totally hot but she sings about teenage drama, high school cheerleaders and pickup trucks."

Ziva sighed and continued to glare at him, "You would not understand Tony."

"You're right I wouldn't because I'm not thirteen."

"You could have fooled me," she muttered under her breath just loud enough for Tony to hear.

"Riddle me this Ziva, what is your favorite part about her music? The cheesy lyrics? The teen angst?" Tony laughed, "I mean nothing about a size two blonde girl who sings like a love sick swain about her _wishing on a wishing star_ screams Ziva David, that's the kind of thing for adolescent teenager with sparkly vampire obsessions not hard core assassins with six inch knives…"

"Shut up Tony!" Ziva yelled slamming a hand on her desk causing every agent within the squad room to jump. "I listen to your inane prattle, your movie quotes and impressions and basically put up with all of your juvenile acts but _my _life is not some toy that you can play with. You will leave me alone or I will find away to keep you quiet permanently!"

With those words Ziva snatched up her things and stormed out of the squad room, probably to go and work out her frustrations with Tony somewhere else, that or she was leaving to avoid the temptation of killing Tony. Either way the senior agent was left with a bad feeling, like maybe he had crossed a line somewhere.

He just didn't know where.

* * *

"Do you know Taylor Swift?"

Abby looked up from the evidence laid out on the table in her lab, the stereo blasting the usual heavy metal music and her attire was the usual black, short skirts, tall boots and studded dog collar. She raised one black eyebrow at Tony's question, "Is this some kind of soul searching question or are you trying to trick me?"

"What do you know about her?" Tony asked giving her an exasperated look.

Abby shrugged, "Country artist, very young like 19 years old I think, she's cute, totally your type. She writes most of her own songs and that is usually about typical teenage things, breaking up with boyfriends and hating on the guys that cheat." Abby smiled before Tony could question her about her knowledge, "My cousin Lucy is obsessed with her, follows her on Twitter and all of that, made me listen to her songs once. Not my taste but apparently her music speaks to a lot of girls; it connects with them or something."

Now she turned her green eyes to Tony, "So why are you interested in the current teen idol?"

Tony shook his head, "It's not what you think…I'm just curious."

"Because…"

He hesitated wondering if he would only be digging his grave deeper if he confessed why he wanted to know about Taylor Swift, with Abby giving him her famous squinty eye he knew she was going to get the information out of him somehow, "I was looking at Ziva's iPod…"

"You were _snooping_ through Ziva's iPod," Abby corrected.

"And apparently Ziva likes her…a lot, and I thought it was crazy so I started to tease her about it and she got _really _mad at me, like scary mad. I'm just trying to figure out where I went wrong."

Abby smiled, "It's simple, you made fun of Ziva's guilty pleasure and you _never_ make fun of someone's guilty pleasure unless they make fun of it first."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you have a favorite song or movie that for some weird reason you love but it doesn't seem like something you should like and is something a lot of your friends make fun of?" Abby asked seriously.

Tony thought for a moment. Yeah there were some movies that he liked that he wouldn't let anybody know about, a couple of chick flicks that some girlfriends made him watch that he'd actually enjoyed even as he complained the entire time. "So you're saying that Taylor Swift is a guilty pleasure for Ziva?"

"Yep."

"But it doesn't make any sense. Ziva is hardcore, Taylor Swift is cute innocent little love songs," Tony pointed out, "how do these two go together?"

"Normally they don't," Abby told him, "but the reason we have guilty pleasures is because they speak to us. They remind us of something, something we love completely and we keep it close and don't want to let if go."

"So Taylor Swift's songs…speak to Ziva, she connects with those songs?"

"Right!"

Tony was silent for a moment still trying to put these two pieces together, "How?"

Abby shrugged, "I don't know; only Ziva can answer that question. But some how her songs mean something to Ziva, something private, something she loves."

He just shook his head. Abby had helped; she had answered some of the questions that Tony had been wrestling with all day. Why Ziva had taken his attack on her favorite teen artist so seriously.

But he had been left with another question.

Why did these songs speak to Ziva?

* * *

Ziva was taking her anger at Tony out on one of the punching bags at the base gym. This was simple, easy and aggressive so it was perfect for wearing her out letting her vent all of her pent up rage. However it didn't occupy the mind as easily as it did her hands, so while she could take out her frustrations physically her mind was busy racing over the argument she'd had with Tony and the reasons behind it.

A part of her couldn't believe that he would go through her desk; the other part reminded her that he had _always_ treated his co workers personal property as his own snooping grounds. That didn't justify him looking through her iPod and embarrassing her on her music choice.

Then why would she try to hide it?

She stopped beating up the punching bag for a moment and looked back over to where her belongings were on the bench, next to her duffel bag was her iPod sitting in plain sight. For a moment she considered erasing the songs that had caused her such humiliation but the thought of that action pained her.

Those songs meant a lot to her, they had helped her through some difficult times and she'd be damned if somebody was going to make her feel like a fool for liking them.

It was because _Tony_ had teased her. He had laughed at the songs that meant so much to her without even knowing why they meant so much to her. He had no idea that her love for these songs was rooted in her feelings for her partner. How it all started in a dark period in her life only a year after she joined NCIS…

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_"I hate these kinds of!" Tony complained as soon as they pulled up at the _

_"Tell me why are you so negative?" Ziva asked partly annoyed at him already since he had talked for an hour in the car about some movie he had watched the night before._

_"Country people, you practically need subtitles to understand them," Tony explained, "never get anything good from them."_

_"Some people might surprise you."_

_"Nothing surprises me."_

_Ziva smiled knowingly, "I could surprise you."_

_Now he turned to her with an intrigued look in his eye, "Really…a surprise I would like, maybe something sexy?"_

_She leaned in close to let the tension between them thicken, "In your dreams, Tony."_

_"I have a lot of dreams Ziva…in some of them you're naked."_

_It was the normal flirting between them that took place almost daily but always thrilled Ziva, it was fun and natural but also exciting and unique. She was ready to provide a comeback that would keep the sexual tension rising however Tony's phone ringing broke the moment._

_She watched as his eyes lit up as soon as he saw the caller ID, he walked away quickly saying over his shoulder, "Let me get this." Ziva pretended to smile and nodded just as he ran off she heard him answer the phone, "Hey beautiful, how are you doing?..."before he was out of earshot._

_Ziva watched him walk away with a sinking feeling in her stomach, reality had come crashing down on her so quickly. Tony had a girlfriend, a real girlfriend, not some one-night-stand but a woman that he was obviously falling in love for. He didn't brag about this one, didn't talk much about her at all in fact but the little things that he did, smile when she called, plan vacations with her for Valentine's Day all made it clear that Tony was serious about this girl._

_He was finally becoming the man that Ziva had always wanted him to be…but it was all for someone else._

_That was the reason why sometimes Ziva really felt like crying._

_That was when the radio station switched from singing about tractors or something to softer more wistful guitar introduction. Then a female voice crooned._

**Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see  
That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be  
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about  
And she's got everything that I have to live without**

_Ziva paused, her breath catching up in her throat, it was as if someone had just written down exactly what she had been thinking. As if someone had understood how she felt at this very moment. She listened intently as the song continued…_

**Drew talks to me, I laugh cause it's just so funny  
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me  
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,  
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night**

_How many times had she laughed at Tony's stories? How many times had Gibbs or McGee or anyone for that matter been there the whole time and she hadn't paid attention. And how many times had she been forced to watch as all the while Tony was falling in love with someone else._

**He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star  
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do**

_"Okay, I'm done, let's go talk to Mr. Monroe," Tony said interrupting Ziva's thoughts. She actually considered telling him to be quiet so she could continue to listen to the song playing on the radio but quickly realized how insane that idea was._

_So just as the song lyrics had said, Ziva faked a smile and agreed following as Tony continued his conversation about the movie from the car, all the while secretly she wished to hear more of that song…_

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_Ziva couldn't get that song out of her dead, all day while talking to suspects and sitting through traffic back to NCIS she kept repeating the lyrics she had heard. Who was singing that song? How did it end? She kept trying to tell herself that obsessing over a song she heard on the radio was foolish but the singer had expressed all the emotions that Ziva had been feelings since Tony's new girlfriend had appeared, changing Tony and forcing Ziva to admit her own feelings towards her partner._

_So during a lull in the case Ziva had gone to her favorite search engine and typed in some of the lyrics she had remembered. The song was apparently popular, written by a very young and very beautiful girl, Taylor Swift, who was also the singer._

_Ziva had pulled out her headphones and found the song, complete with lyrics, on YouTube so she could listen to the rest, thankful for the fact that the rest of her team was occupied elsewhere. _

_She had been correct, the rest of the song was a poignant and sad as the beginning, ending on a resigned note just the way Ziva was feeling. The woman in the song was also too late in telling her friend her true feelings only to watch him fall in love with someone else. There was no happy ending in this story, just the pain of watching someone else walk away with everything you wanted._

_It stayed with her throughout the rest of the day, she must have listened to it dozens of times until the lyrics were burned into her brain. She was tapping out the tune on the papers in her hand as she waited for the elevator, silently running through the song in her head when the doors opened, wondering if Drew looked anything like Tony._

_Only to look up and see Tony in the elevator. "Hey Ziva," he said with a grin only to walk past her towards his desk, brushing against her arm leaving her skin tingling where he touched her._

_She watched him go on; he was completely oblivious to her racing thoughts._

**Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?  
And there he goes, so perfectly,  
The kind of flawless I wish I could be  
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love  
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause**

_Ziva leaned up against the elevator wall, all alone in the small space. She rested her head back against the cool metal silently wishing that she could just let go of the pain._

**He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star  
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do**

_She continued to think about the situation, trying to come up with any other thing to obsess over, her favorite book, the case that was finally over, her father's latest letter of condemnation over her decision to transfer to NCIS. But every time the quiet came over her the lyrics of the song beat through her brain and only reminded her of Tony._

_Tony had been whisteling all afternoon. That meant he had a date tonight._

_A date with _her.

_His new girlfriend that he couldn't wait to go out with._

_Ziva's apartment was empty as usual. There were no messages waiting for her. No one to greet her, no family nearby to come by and visit. It was one of those times where Ziva felt lonely. Usually she would have called Tony, he would have showed up with pizza, beer and some movie that they would have watched with him talking throughout the entire thing about the actors, the other films they had been in, what were his favorite lines and so on._

_All the while Ziva would have been watching him silently loving the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke with enthusiasm_

_But she couldn't do that now…Tony was busy with his girlfriend._

**So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light  
I'll put his picture down and maybe  
Get some sleep tonight**

_She put the TV on for background noise, ate some left over Chinese food from the refrigerator and flipped through a magazine. None of it helped to lift the weight that was pressing on her chest, bruising her ribs and piercing her heart with pain. None of it could lift her spirits._

**He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart  
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do  
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough  
And he's all that I need to fall into..**

_Ziva looked up to see a framed picture of Tony grinning at her from her side table. She had photographs of all of the teammates but only Tony's held her gaze. Only Tony was constantly in her thoughts. Only Tony was the one she couldn't seem to get over._

_She'd had many crushes in the past but when things never worked out she had always been able to move on, always been able to work past the sadness. _

_Why not now?_

**Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see.**

_Ziva reached over and turned the Tony's picture over so that it was laying flat on the table top and she wouldn't have to look at his face._

_She knew why this hurt more…_

_Tony meant more._

* * *

A/N: Awww I really wanted to cry when I wrote this ending. Don't worry there will be more. I hope you guys don't mind Tony bashing Taylor a little bit, it just seems like him to automatically think that Taylor Swift is girly, oooh I also threw in a little bit of Twilight in there to. I love both Taylor Swift and Twilight so I hope that nobody was offended by Tony's comments, he doesn't know any better...yet.

I will take some song suggestions into considerations if you guys have any and please send me any ideas or comments in your reviews. What are you waiting for? Tell me what you think?


	2. You Belong With Me

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing, not NCIS and not You Belong With Me.

A/N: Awww I really loved your reviews, though it did get a little weird when people started to gripe about Tony in season 7. Honestly I thought this season has been pretty great so far, a lot better than season 6. I do think Tony was really weird in Out Law and In Laws but that episode was really bad for a lot of reasons, Tony's out of characterness being one of the least of them

Anyhoo, I was laughing at a lot of people's reactions to this fic. It was my intention for people to see this story and think, Taylor Swift and NCIS...am I seeing this right? So glad to see I didn't dissappoint. I was also happy to see a lot of people confessing that Taylor Swift was one of their guilty pleasures, well that's just one more thing you guys have in common with Ziva LOL.

I'm proud to be a Taylor Swift fan, I'm writing this fanfic aren't I?

Well, this chapter was hard to write. This was a little bit of a different song, the lyrics don't quite fit Tony and Ziva however the meaning behind them fits perfectly so I decided to go with that. The ending I am particularly proud of, so read and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: You Belong With Me

He just didn't get it.

What did Ziva seen in Taylor Swift? How could a teen drama queen singing about her high school boyfriends connect with the former Mossad assassin? It was night and day, dogs and cats, Felix and Oscar.

The question had been bugging Tony ever since he'd spoken to Abby and she had told him that obviously Ziva connected with the songs Taylor Swift was famous for. He knew that he'd insulted Ziva by making fun of Swift's music, but what bothered him more was the fact that he had no idea _why_ she liked Swift so much. He had prided himself in understanding Ziva, he had been certain that he knew what she liked, what she hated, what would make her tick and what made her sad…now he wasn't sure.

So the only way he could think of to find out the answers to his questions was to try and put himself in Ziva's shoes. So he stole Ziva's iPod again and began to listen to the songs he had made fun of the day before.

And now he was in hell.

The teen girl angst was seriously beginning to get to him. The catchy choruses only made things worse as they would be stuck in his head and for the life of him he couldn't get them out! But he decided to stick with it, all for the sake of figuring out his favorite ninja assassin.

"What are you listening to?"

Abby's question startled Tony, who hadn't seen the Goth scientist and McGee come in. Tony quickly tossed the iPod into a drawer and slammed it shut before either one of his friends could sneak a peak at the song.

"Nothing."

Of course McGee might be naïve but he wasn't stupid, "Then why are you trying to hide it?"

Tony glared at the other agent, "I am listening to Sinatra on my iPod, does that satisfy you McGossip?"

To his surprise McGee gave a smug grin, "No you're not."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I believe I am," McGee told him, "because you gave me your iPod two days ago to fix it even though I told you that there was no way I could fix an iPod that you'd dropped in a sink full of water."

Oh yeah, he had done that. Crap!

"I got a new one," Tony said quickly and lying badly.

Abby looked at him quizzically, studying his face for a moment, "You're lying," she pronounced confidently.

"Ziva taught you that didn't she?"

"Yep."

McGee was still smiling, eager to find out what Tony was hiding, "Come on, tell us, whose iPod is that?"

"Why Probie, are you worried I'm listening to your Julie Andrews?"

Suddenly Abby gasped excitedly, "You stole Ziva's iPod again didn't you! Oh my god you're listening to Taylor Swift!"

Damn she was good!

"No!" Tony protested still keeping his hand clamped carefully around the handle of the drawer so that no one could open it to find out.

"You _so_ are!" Abby said happily.

"Taylor Swift," McGee said grinning again, "that's pretty embarrassing don't you think?"

"I don't know, why don't you sing a few bars of _Looks Like We Made It_ and we'll take a vote," Tony shot back before realizing that he'd all but confessed what he'd been listening to.

Unfortunately, Abby caught that little slip, "So you admit it, you were listening to Taylor Swift!"

There was no way out of this one; Tony knew that he'd really dug his own grave this time. "Look I was just listening to it so I could figure out what Ziva sees in her," Tony explained, "it's not like I _want_ to listen to her."

"So," Abby began eagerly, "what did you find out?"

"That Ziva must have an affection for teenage drama," Tony said flatly.

Abby punched his arm, "Be serious!"

"I am."

She groaned and shoved Tony's hand away from the closed drawer so she could pull out the stolen iPod, "Alright," she said like a general laying out a strategic defense, "Let' s see what we've got here.

"The song that you had up is _Teardrops on my Guitar_, what is that one about?" she asked Tony.

He shrugged, "She's in love with some guy who doesn't know how she feels because he completely in love with his girlfriend, so she's all depressed and everything."

Abby raised an eyebrow at that one, "Oookay, so what about this one, it's called _You Belong With Me_."

"Another one where the girl is in love with a guy, she talks about how she's perfect for him and he can't see it. He's got a girlfriend that doesn't understand him and she keeps comparing herself to that girl."

Abby smiled, "I think I'm beginning to see a pattern."

"High School drama?" McGee asked.

She rolled her eyes, "No, the songs are about a girl in love with a guy who's clueless." The two agents just gave her blank stares, "Don't you get it? Ziva is in love with someone and he has _no _idea."

"Hold on, just because she listens to songs about love sick teenagers doesn't mean that she is in love with someone," Tony said quickly.

"She connects with these songs Tony," Abby reminded him, "that means she has to have something in common with them, which means…"

"Ziva is in love with someone," McGee finished, "but who?"

"You're clueless half the time McGoogle," Tony said lightly, "Maybe it's you."

McGee smiled, "You think?" Abby frowned and head-slapped the agent and McGee winced, "Right, probably not."

Unfortunately at that moment the object of their conversation walked up, Ziva looked at the crowd at Tony's desk with a questioning glance. "What is going on?"

"We're discussing titles for movie night," Tony said quickly, "You want in?"

Her response was just to glare at Tony before sitting down at her desk and switching the computer on. She still wasn't speaking to him after he's gone through her things, from the looks McGee and Abby were throwing at him; they'd figured that out for themselves.

It didn't take long for McGee and Abby to make their excuses and leave the two other agents to their awkward silence. Tony wasn't an idiot; he knew that they were going to brainstorm to figure out who it was that Ziva thought about when she listened to Taylor Swift.

And he didn't want to admit to himself but he was wondering too.

Ziva was in love with someone? Why did that bother him? Was it because he'd had no idea she was carrying a torch for some guy? That had to be it; any other answer was territory he didn't want to cross. There was rule number twelve to remember after all, not that he cared about Gibbs' rules except that the team leader could smack his head silly and Tony didn't really care for brain damage.

Still those thoughts kept creeping back into his head, his eyes kept straying to the drawer that contained Ziva's iPod and the lyrics of the song began to resonate in his mind.

Who was he?

* * *

_Ziva could not help but sneak glances at Tony while running through phone records of their latest suspect. It had been a couple of weeks since the whole operation with La Granoulle had gone down, two weeks since she'd seen Tony's car blow up thinking he was inside of it and two weeks since they had all learned of Tony's undercover operation with Jeanne Benoit, La Granoulle's daughter._

_And the woman Tony had fallen in love with._

_The woman who had walked away from Tony in anger and indignation, disappearing completely. Ziva was certain that Jeanne's outrage was justifiable; she must have felt like a tool which was basically the truth. However because of Tony's melancholy eyes and sad demeanor Ziva also knew that he was hurting terribly so she couldn't help but be just a little bit angry at the woman who had put Tony in this state._

_The truth was that this entire year had been an emotional rollercoaster for Tony. At times he had seemed deliriously happy, other times he had been almost as sad as he was now. Perhaps it had been the stress of an undercover mission…or the stress of seeing her. Ziva couldn't say for certain, she just knew that being in love shouldn't have to be so hard._

I would never hurt him like that_ Ziva thought, _at least I would try not to_. She shook her head, _I shouldn't think things like that. He is still in mourning over his first real love and I am holding a light for him like some love sick teenager.

_But it was so easy for her to believe that._

**You're on the phone  
With your girlfriend  
She's upset  
She's going off about  
Something that you said  
'cause she doesn't get your humor  
Like I do**

_Ziva was a little startled by the lyrics that were blasting in her ears. She'd forgotten that she'd set her iPod to shuffle. _What a song to come on now_, she mused but didn't switch to a different song. The next few lines stopped her cold._

**I'm in my room  
It's a typical Tuesday night  
I'm listening to the kind of music  
She doesn't like  
She'll never know your story  
Like I do**

_Ziva paused, the last two lines continued to repeat in her mind. She'll never know your story like I do, nothing could have been more fitting to her own feelings at the moment. It was completely true, what did Jeanne Benoit know about Tony? _

_Nothing._

_She knew Tony DiNardo, the online film professor that masqueraded as the perfect boyfriend. She didn't know Tony DiNozzo, the childlike special agent with a Magnum P.I. obsession. Tony DiNozzo that annoyed his workmates to no end, who at the same time was very protective to his partner and would do anything to help his friends._

**But she wears short skirts  
I wear t-shirts  
She's cheer captain  
And I'm on the bleachers**

_Ziva smiled at that part in the song, no Jeanne certainly wasn't a cheerleader. Tony would have really liked it if that were true._

_But she couldn't help but remember looking through the other woman's apartment when they learned she had disappeared. The photographs around the living room, clothes in the closet, all showed a woman with impeccable taste in clothing. Expensive dresses and shoes, like a runway model._

_Ziva looked down at her cargo pants and comfortable shoes, she was ready to take down a suspect, not go out to a four-star restaurant. She looked up at Tony and found herself wondering if that was the kind of woman Tony liked, all dressed up and looking feminine._

**Dreaming about the day  
When you wake up and find  
That what you're looking for  
Has been here the whole time**

_She slapped a hand over her eyes and sighed, Tony had always been focused on a woman's looks. Always noticing who was in a short skirt, who wore a blouse just a little too low. What about a woman who noticed more than just how good he looked in a suit? What about a woman that knew what his favorite movies were? How he liked to have his coffee? How to comfort him when he was sad?_

_A woman like her?_

_Would he ever notice that?_

**If you could see  
That I'm the one  
Who understands you  
Been here all along  
So why can't you  
See you belong with me  
You belong with me.**

_Suddenly the headphones were yanked out of Ziva's ears and she was staring right into Gibbs' blue eyes. "Are you going to work the case or would you prefer to listen to your pod thing?"_

_"iPod," Ziva corrected automatically feeling stupid for saying that._

_"Whatever," Gibbs said giving her the famous stare._

_"The case," Ziva replied quickly, "I'll get back to work."_

_"You do that," Gibbs told her, "Interview Frank Peterson on Juniper Street, take DiNozzo."With that Gibbs went to his own desk leaving Ziva to gather her things and breathe a sigh of relief._

_Tony was on her heels as she went to the elevator, "You seemed pretty into your music there Zee-vah, what were you listening to?"_

_"Nothing Tony," she told him._

_No way in hell she was going to tell him that she listened to Taylor Swift, she would never hear the end of it._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_"I'm telling you that guy was just like Hannibal Lecter," Tony told her as they walked down Juniper street towards their parked car._

_"Hannibal Lecter?"she asked making it obvious she had no idea what he was talking about._

_"Was in the movie Silence of the Lambs. Serial killer, ate his victims, and talked in this really cold calculating voice," He faked a shiver, "scared the crap out of me the first time I saw that movie."_

_"You think that Frank Peterson eats people?"_

_"No, his voice and the way he acts...its just creepy," Tony explained, "I kept expecting him to start talking about a census taker and fava beans."_

_"What?!"_

_Tony sighed dramatically, "So much work to do."_

_Ziva laughed softly, she couldn't help it. She felt just like she did a year ago when he would talk about things and she had no idea what he was saying. Then he would show up at her apartment with whatever movie he had been discussing and they would spend the rest of the night arguing._

_And having fun._

**Walking the streets  
With you and your worn out jeans  
I can't help thinking  
This is how it ought to be  
Laughing on a park bench  
Thinking to myself  
Hey, isn't this easy?**

_"Alright, besides the fact that you don't know one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time," Tony began, "what did you think about Mr. Peterson?"_

_Ziva narrowed her eyes and stared at the store front they had just walked out of, the place where their suspect worked. While she didn't understand who this Lecter person Tony had been talking about was, she did agree that there was something very sinister about Frank Peterson._

_"He gives me a woody," Ziva told him._

_Then Tony burst out laughing._

_Tony was bent over at the waist, tears in his eyes laughing his ass off and Ziva had no idea why, "Willies," Tony finally managed to choke out, "he gives you the _willies."_ He chuckled again, "A woody…well that is something else."_

_Ziva did not care that she had just mess up another American phrase, she was busy gazing at Tony, his eyes for the first time in weeks shining with happiness and his lips softened. She loved it when he looked like that._

**And you've got a smile  
That could light up this whole town  
I haven't seen it in awhile  
Since she brought you down**

_"What?" He asked when he noticed that she was staring at him._

_She shook her head, "It's nothing…it's just nice," he looked confused so Ziva explained; "it's nice to see you smile again."_

_That smile disappeared as soon as she said those words and she immediately wished that she could take them back. She just wanted him to be happy again, that's all. What would that take?_

_"You can talk about it," Ziva told him, "It might help."_

_Tony was quite for a long moment, he didn't look Ziva in the eye but instead looked down the street. They could see the capitol building from this point but she knew that he wasn't seeing that. He was seeing someone else's face._

**You say you're fine  
I know you better than that  
Hey what you doing  
With a girl like that**

_"You ever think that maybe you just get one shot at it?" Tony finally spoke, still not meeting Ziva's eyes, "and that if you screw it up…maybe there is no next time. Maybe there is just that one person, and that's it?"_

_Ziva thought for a moment, opened her mouth to speak but closed it. No, she couldn't say anything right now. She was afraid that if she did she might just confess ever single thought that had been rolling around in her mind since the day she realized she was more than just attracted to her partner._

_Tony shook his head, "Forget it, we should get back to the case," and he pulled out his phone to call Gibbs._

_And the light was gone from his eyes again._

_Ziva felt like kicking something, feelings so stupid for not saying something, feeling so frustrated that he was still in love with a woman that had hurt him. How could he love someone so much when that person was so wrong for him?_

**She wears high heels  
I wear sneakers  
She's cheer captain  
I'm on the bleachers  
Dreaming about the day  
When you wake up and find  
That what you're looking for  
Has been here the whole time**

_Would he ever notice how much it hurt _her_ to see him like this? Sure, she didn't know any of the movies he talked about but she enjoyed watching him talk passionately about them. She understood what kind of person that he was and she knew that what he was going through was killing him. She knew how it felt to be crushed like this._

_He believed that there was only one chance at finding love and he believed that was Jeanne? _

_Didn't he notice that _she_ was here, waiting for him, watching out for him, trying to learn what he liked and trying to be the kind of woman that he wanted?_

**If you could see  
That I'm the one  
Who understands you  
Been here all along  
So why can't you  
See you belong with me  
Standing by and  
Waiting at your backdoor  
All this time  
How could you not know  
Maybe  
You belong with me  
You belong with me**

_Tony walked up to her, disrupting her thoughts, "Gibbs wants us back at NCIS, Abby's got something."_

_Ziva nodded and followed him numbly, she felt like all of gravity was pushing her downwards into the earth._

_Like perhaps there was no hope for her and Tony._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_Tony was still bothered by their conversation earlier, Ziva could see that the weight had only increased on his shoulders. She had forced him to confess what he was truly afraid of: that he would be alone._

_She really wanted to hug him, to tell him that he was wrong. There was someone else out there, she knew it. She knew it because it was her, the partner that had been there for him all along. _

_But while Ziva could stand up to a gun wielding terrorist without flinching…the idea of telling Tony her true feelings scared her to death. _

_Still she watched him shuffle along with his day, the gloomy cloud still hanging over him. There had to be some way she could tell him what she wanted to say, something that would make him realize that he was wrong._

_Something._

**Oh, I remember  
You driving to my house  
In the middle of the night  
I'm the one who makes you laugh  
When you know you're about to cry  
And I know your favorite songs  
And you tell me about your dreams  
Think I know where you belong  
Think I know it's with me**

_And then she knew._

_Tony was heading for the Men's room and Ziva smiled, she couldn't think of a better place to talk to him alone. She'd cornered him there once before, why not now?_

_He was startled when she burst through the door but quickly recovered, "Get lost again Ziva?"_

_"I wanted to continue our discussion from earlier," she explained ignoring his teasing question._

_Tony glared at her, "I told you to forget about that."_

_He tried to walk out the door but she blocked his path and put a hand up to stop him, "I believe…" she paused trying to calm her quaking nerves, "I believe that there is one person for everyone," now she looked him in the eye, "Jeanne was not that person for you."_

_Tony narrowed his eyes, "You don't know anything about that."_

_"Neither did she," Ziva continued, "She was in love with Tony DiNardo, she didn't know the real you and you…you weren't really you with her." She looked up at him to see that he was staring at her intently and suddenly words began to spill from her lips, "She didn't know that you like to watch interrogations as if they were one of your movies, she doesn't know that you can relentlessly chase down a suspect, she doesn't know how much you respect Gibbs…and she doesn't know how much you care about your teammates._

_"She didn't know _you_ Tony, she wasn't right for you which means she wasn't the one for you," Ziva explained, "that woman is still out there Tony, you just have to open your eyes and find her."_

_Tony looked at Ziva meaningfully, taking in everything she had just said. She felt her stomach quivering at the way he was staring at her, her throat felt dry. Had she said too much? Did he guess who she had been _really _talking about. _

_What would he think?_

_For the first time she felt real hope at what he might say next._

**Can't you see  
That I'm the one  
Who understands  
Been here all along  
So why can't you see?  
You belong with me.**

_Tony smiled and Ziva's heart melted, "That's what I love about you Ziva, you know exactly what I need to hear." He patted her shoulder, "Thank you…I mean that." And he walked away from her, his step just a little bit lighter._

_Ziva stared at the spot where he had just stood, her heart sinking a little with every second that ticked by._

_She should be happy, she had helped him feel better, helped him see that he shouldn't be so down. _

_But he hadn't understood. He hadn't been able to read between the lines to see what woman she had been talking about._

_Her._

**Have you ever thought  
Just maybe  
You belong with me?**

_Would he ever see her that way? Ziva had a feeling that she knew what that answer was._

_No._

* * *

A/N: I feel bad for Ziva again, man I need to stop writing such sad stuff LOL. Good news is that the next song will be a little more fun and upbeat but still completely Tiva. If you guys want to really get the mood of this fic, there are a couple of videos on Youtube that feature both of the songs I've used so far with Tiva. Take a look, the one on Teardrops on My Guitar is really good!

So what did you think? Don't just stand there, REVIEW!


	3. I'd Lie

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

A/N: Happy Holidays everybody, sorry it took a little longer than I mean to get this thing posted but with family visiting and being stuck in a house with limited internet access, it wasn't easy finding time. This is probably one of the chapters everybody has been waiting for, of all of the suggestions people have been giving the most popular demand by you guys was for me to write a chapter with this song.

Lucky for you, that was my intention all along.

A big shout out of congratulations to Taylor Swift, without her song writing and singing skills this story would never have been written. Taylor swept through the CMA and AMA awards, taking home the most awards including Entertainer of the Year for 2009. She was also the first Country musician to EVER win a VMA award (Boo Kanye!) AND she has been nominated for eight Grammys!!! Here's to hoping she takes them all home later this month! I'm glad to see that Tiva fans obviously aren't the only ones who like her songs!

* * *

Chapter 3: I'd Lie

Ziva was still angry at Tony but at least she was speaking to him again, that was a good start he decided. Sure, she was speaking only in terse monosyllable answers but at least it was something. Tony wasn't too worried, he knew he could fix this; the problem was that he couldn't seem to get alone with Ziva to apologize. Every time he tried to arrange an encounter, the boss sent him and McGee out to interview someone, Ducky interrupted in search of Gibbs or Abby called to see if he had apologized to Ziva yet.

He had acted a little rude when Abby did that, just another apology he would have to make later. Could his week get any worse?

Actually it could.

Since listening to Ziva's iPod and getting the lyrics to Taylor Swift's song "Fifteen" stuck in his head for 24 hours straight, he had vowed to avoid the blond singer's music for at least two weeks.

Unfortunately fate had other things in mind.

While waiting for his coffee the radio in the shop had decided to play "You Belong With Me" and the girl behind the counter knew all of the words and sang along. Then while watching TV the night before a trailer came on for a new movie coming and the song played in the trailer was "Love Story", finally when he was waiting dry cleaning the DJ on the radio announced that in celebration of Taylor Swift sweeping the AMA awards he was going to play one of her songs and the lyrics to "Tim McGraw" floated through the air.

He was really beginning to hate the country star.

It was while he was pondering why karma was out to get him that he finally spied an opportunity to corner Ziva. Gibbs had tossed her the keys to gas the truck so the team could investigate a home invasion and Ziva was heading towards the elevator.

Quick as a flash Tony ran towards the elevator and jumped in before the doors closed, startling Ziva before she could protest. Tony laughed gleefully, "I've got you now."

She pushed the stop button on the elevator, "What do you want Tony."

"To apologize."

That surprised Ziva and her eyes stopped flashing anger but instead settled into something else, something like hope. With that bit of encouragement Tony continued, "I shouldn't have implied that you liking Taylor Swift is wrong, I talked to Abby and apparently a lot of people connect with her songs. If that is the case then her music must really mean something to you."

"It does," Ziva admitted, a wistful look on her face that had Tony wishing he could read her mind.

"I really didn't mean to pull a Kanye West and rain on your parade, she may not be my taste but that doesn't give me the right to insult you."

For the first time in days Ziva smiled softly at him, "Well I suppose it was not _completely_ your fault…I could have reacted better."

Tony smiled at her now and held up a hand for a peace offering, "So do you forgive me or do I have to worry about you killing me with a paperclip."

Ziva grinned and shook his hand, "You only have to fear me if you decide to once more explain the genius of Monty Python."

"Oh come on! Can't I at least do my Holy Grail impression?"

She held up a finger, "I'm warning you Tony if you even think about it…"

"Alright, alright deal." He said still grinning from ear to ear. After a second Ziva noticed his gaze became serious again. She wasn't prepared for his question, "Who is he?"

Ziva looked at him confused, "Who is who?"

"The guy that Taylor Swift's songs remind you of."

The former Mossad operative might have been trained to hide her emotions but she wasn't unflappable and Tony noticed the mixture of shock and fear in her eyes. It took a few seconds for her regain her composure and speak, "I do not know what you are talking about."

But the damage was done and Tony knew she was lying. "I told you, I spoke to Abby about your Taylor Swift obsession. She said that her songs must mean something to you and after examining her music I realized that a lot of the songs are about being in love with somebody who's clueless about your real feelings. Therefore Ziva David, you must have feelings for a guy and he has no idea…so who is he?"

Ziva found herself in turmoil, how had he been able to put so many of the pieces together? It was time for damage control; Tony was getting too close to the truth. So Ziva put on her most seductive mask and said suggestively, "Who said it was a man?"

Tony laughed and wagged a finger at him, "Nice try Ziva but you aren't going get out of this that easily." He looked down into her eyes, "I will get the truth out of you."

Ziva smiled again and leveled her eyes with him as she pushed the button on the elevator to get it moving again, "I'd love to see you try," she said firmly.

The doors to the elevator opened and Ziva stepped off leaving Tony to stare after her and wonder.

* * *

There was only one word to describe Tony's efforts to discover Ziva's mystery man: persistent. Ziva should have remembered how Tony could draw upon his inner pit bull and chase down an answer until he found out the truth or she pulled her gun on him. At the crime scene he had continued to grill her in an attempt to find out who she thought about when she listened to Taylor Swift. Her only respite was when Gibbs had come in and he had been forced to stop his inane questioning for a while.

However, once they were back at NCIS and out of the sight of Gibbs, it all started back up again.

"At least give me a hint," Tony begged while Ziva tried in vain to ignore him even though she had long since learned that she was always going to be aware of her partner. When she didn't respond Tony continued his guessing game, "Is he tall, short, brunette, blond?

"Yes," Ziva said happy to see that her 'answer' irritated him.

"Is it Palmer? Please tell me it isn't the autopsy gremlin."

"Why, I think he's cute," Ziva told him teasingly.

"Yes the glasses and haircut have the ladies falling all over him," Tony remarked dryly causing Ziva to laugh.

"Why are you so curious?" she asked, "or are you just jealous?"

Suddenly Tony was on the defensive, "Me jealous? Please, you really think I care about your love life?"

"Then why do you keep asking me about it?"

Tony was silent as he tried to think up a way out of this situation, "You are my partner and I'm…_concerned_" he emphasized the last word, "I need to be aware of anything that could distract you during an investigation. And you being head over heels in love with someone is a distraction."

"Well your _concern_ is not needed," Ziva told him, "and if you don't stop asking questions then I promise you that I will show you how I can kill someone with a paperclip."

Wisely Tony decided to keep quiet and for ten blissful minutes Ziva was able to work in peace without having to fend off Tony's relentless quest to get to the heart of her choice in music.

But Tony had one more question to ask.

"Do I know him?"

Ziva stopped writing mid sentence, the point of her pen digging into the paper. She didn't move for the longest minute as she debated what to say. Of course there was only one route she could take.

A lie.

"No," she finally spoke without ever once looking up at him. She didn't see if he believed her or not but instead went back to work with one thought rolling around in her head.

_If he only knew._

* * *

_Ziva was speeding through traffic and weaving through lanes, not an unusual circumstance on a Wednesday morning but she wasn't heading to NCIS. Tony had called that morning and asked to be picked up since his car wouldn't start and Gibbs had threatened to fire him if he was late any more times that month._

_She pulled to screeching halt at the curb outside of Tony's apartment, still bobbing her head in time to the music that was playing through her car stereos. Abby had given her an iPod attachment for her car for her birthday, a blessing really since there weren't many stations in America that played her favorite Israeli artists._

_The eardrum shattering beat was fading to a close when she saw Tony walking down the walkway towards her car. That was when the newest song she'd downloaded from Taylor Swift started to blast through the car._

_"Damn it," she said in a panic as Tony walked closer to her car. She tried to switch to a different song but realized that there wasn't enough time so she jerked her iPod off of its stand and threw it in the back seat without bothering to turn it off._

_The car door opened and Tony slip into the passenger seat, "Thanks for the ride Zee-vah," Tony said._

_"You owe me one Tony," she replied with a grin before pressing her foot down on the gas and speeding away while Tony grappled for his seat belt._

_"Hey Earnhardt, slow down! I had eggs for breakfast and I don't want to see them again!"_

_Ziva laughed but did lower her speed a tiny bit, not enough to make Tony happy of course; however he didn't complain any further but instead stared out the window in a contemplative silence. She was free to woolgather at her own thoughts which unfortunately reverted to the fact that Tony was wearing her favorite shirt on him…the one that brought out his eyes._

_And the Taylor Swift song she hadn't wanted Tony to hear began to reverberate in her head._

**I don't think that passenger seat  
Has ever looked this good to me  
He tells me about his night  
And I count the colors in his eyes**

_"Left, Ziva, left!" Tony yelled, breaking her thoughts. The tires squealed loudly as they barely made the turn and Tony groaned,__ "I have a date tonight you know, I don't think Sandra will appreciate it if I have to explain why my partner got me in a car wreck."_

_"You have a date?!" Ziva exclaimed, turning to look at her partner in surprise thus taking her eyes off the road._

_"Keep your eyes on the road!" Tony shouted and Ziva braked to avoid hitting a slow moving van. "Do that again and I'm going to make you pull over so _I_ can drive."_

_"You would not succeed," Ziva replied dryly, "You are going on a date? Let me guess, she is tall, well built and cannot spell her own name, yes? Did you learn nothing from what I told you last week?"_

_"No," Tony said annoyed, "remind me."_

_"You need a _real_ woman, someone you can fall in love with."_

_"I'm not planning to fall in love again," Tony told her, "it's too painful"_

**He'll never fall in love he swears  
As he runs his fingers through his hair  
I'm laughing cause I hope he's wrong**

_"Not if you find the right woman," she explained, "you can not just have meaningless relationships because one woman broke your heart." Ziva shook her head sadly and said in a much softer voice, "Not all women would hurt you like that."_

_"Like who?" Tony asked seriously and Ziva didn't reply for a long while, she was afraid she might just say the truth._

**I don't think it ever crossed his mind  
He tells a joke I fake a smile  
That I know all his favorite songs**

_After a long moment of hesitation she spoke again, "A woman who knows all about you, and understands you. Someone who will be there for you for more than just one night."_

_Tony shrugged, "You know where I can find one?"_

Yes_ Ziva thought_, she's sitting right next to you.

**And I could tell you his favorite color's green  
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth  
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes  
And if you asked me if I love him,**

_"No," Ziva said and didn't say anything else on the way to NCIS._

**I'd lie**

* * *

_"I don't know what the big deal is!" Tony exclaimed later that day as he exited the elevator and headed towards Abby's lab, "I was questioning a witness!"_

_"You were _drooling_ over that woman," Ziva said angrily, "I thought that you were going to dehydrate."_

_"I was conducting an investigation."_

_"So you were looking at her ass because you thought it was evidence?" Ziva scoffed._

_"No I was looking at her ass because I'm a guy," Tony said seriously and looked into her eyes, "Why do you care?"_

**He looks around the room  
Innocently overlooks the truth**

_"I want you to find someone meaningful," Ziva reminded him, "Leering at tall blondes is not what I meant."_

**Shouldn't a light go on?  
Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long?**

_They stepped into Abby's lab with anger still crackling between them, something the friendly scientist picked up on, "Wow are you two unhappy," she stated with a cheerful ring._

_"Ziva is trying to give me advice on my love life."_

_"No, I just do not want you to take two steps forward and one step back," Ziva said._

_"You mean one step forward and two steps back," Tony corrected._

_"Whatever," Ziva rolled her eyes, "You were becoming a real adult when you were with Jeanne, now you want to go back to empty relationships."_

_"No, I what I want is to take care of my own life and find out why you care so much!"_

**He sees everything in black and white  
Never let nobody see him cry  
I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine**

_"I just want you to be happy Tony," she explained._

_Abby raised an eyebrow, "She has a point."_

_Tony turned an accusing glare at Abby, "Don't start taking her side."_

_"Well maybe you should listen to Ziva," she continued ignoring his attitude, "She knows you pretty well and what's good for you."_

**I could tell you his favorite color's green  
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth  
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes  
And if you asked me if I love him,**

**I'd lie**

_Tony shook his head, "I don't need either of you telling me what to do with my life," he explained, "I'm fine." With that he threw down the evidence bag he had come down to deliver and walked out._

_Ziva watched him go, she knew he was lying. Tony wasn't fine, he was still nursing a broken heart and thought that reverting back to his bachelor ways would help it heal. Instead he was only dooming himself to more loneliness. _

_He needed to find someone that would help him glue back the pieces to his heart, be a shoulder to lean on and hand to help pick him back up. _

_Someone like her._

**He stands there then walks away  
My god if I could only say  
I'm holding every breath for you...**

_"Wow," Abby said once Tony was gone, "You two are really at each other's throats today."_

_"He is so infuriating! He will not listen to reason!" Ziva half shouted, "He does not need that brain dead blonde or some other one night stand."_

_Abby looked surprised at her words, "You think you know what kind of woman that Tony needs?"_

_"Of course I do," Ziva explained then her face got wistful as she began to list just what she thought Tony deserved. "He needs someone who he can actually carry out a conversation with, someone he can tell his secrets to._

**He'd never tell you but he can play guitar  
I think he can see through everything  
But my heart**

_"Someone who will laugh at his jokes and understand his sense of humor. He needs a woman that will catch him at his own game and keep him guessing." Now Ziva smiled as everything came pouring out, "Someone who can see through his childlike manners and see how wonderful he can be."_

**First thought when I wake up is  
My god he's beautiful**

Will he ever see it?_ Ziva wondered, would he ever just open his eyes and notice how much she appreciated him. How she already understood everything about him, how she knew what to say and do to make him happy._

_She hoped so._

**So I put on my make up  
And pray for a miracle**

_"I know what he should have," Ziva continued to ramble, "I know what he needs and wants but he cannot seem to see past everything and see it! Why can't he see it?"_

**Yes I could tell you his favorite color's green  
He loves to argue oh and it kills me  
His sister's beautiful he has his father's eyes**

_That was when Ziva finally looked up to see Abby looking at her meaningfully and a knowing smile was on her lips. Now she realized everything that she had just spoken aloud and Ziva's heart began to race._

_Dear god she'd said too much!_

**And if you asked me if I love him**

_Abby looked her straight in the eye, "Ziva…do you have feelings for Tony?"_

**If you asked me if I love him**

_But Mossad had trained her very well._

_Ziva smiled as if she'd heard a good joke and rolled her eyes, "That's a good one Abby, you have a vivid imagination." And Ziva walked away before she could see her face._

**I'd lie**

* * *

A/N: Well what did you think? I hope to update again very soon but classes are starting up again in two weeks so we'll see. Review and it will probably get me motivated to write that much sooner!


	4. Fearless

Disclaimer: I own 2 Taylor Swift cds and seasons 1-5 of NCIS, but nothing else, I just borrow the characters to amuse you guys!

A/N: Wow I didn't expect to recieve SO MANY reviews, I love it!!!

Well, this fic might be getting a little longer you guys. I might be adding 2 more chapters for a couple of reasons. Taylor Swift released a new single, "Today Was a Fairytale" this week. It is AWESOME! I love it so much that I'm probably going to have to write a chapter to it, (hint if the new episode of NCIS on Tuesday is as full of Tiva as I've heard it is, it might be about that episode)

The second song is this one.

This chapter is for **shootingstarr**, she begged me to write a chapter to the song "Fearless" and I felt terrible because I hadn't been planning to use that song. I really do love the song but I just couldn't thinki of anything for it. But then, ever since she reviewed the song has literally been following me around all week (not unlike Tony in the 3rd chapter of this story!), everytime I turned on the radio the song would be playing and I would thinking about **shootingstarr. **

Well yesterday I put on my Taylor Swift cd and started listening to "Fearless" when suddenly an idea popped into my head, I listend to the song a couple of times just letting the idea continue to form and then I hooked and this chapter was born.

The lesson of this story, if you make a recommendation then I might feel guilty enough to listen to the song about 20 times and then inspiration might just strike!

Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 4: Fearless

Ziva had been hoping that with Tony's apology out of the way that perhaps things would go back to normal but she underestimated her team's persistence in the subject of her favorite artist. Tony was the worst, still harassing her for details and trying to weasel the truth out of her, not that Ziva would fall for it. But Abby was a close second in her fascination but not nearly as annoying.

"Now that you and Tony made up is it alright if I ask you about your Taylor Swift obsession?" the Goth scientist asked Ziva in her lab.

Ziva groaned, "Not you too."

Abby grinned, "Tony's been after you?"

She nodded, "He thinks that the reason I like Taylor Swift is because I am in love with someone," she narrowed her eyes at Abby, "apparently because of something _you_ said."

Abby just smiled, "Well it's true."

"It is not!"

"Come on," she said, "you listen to songs about romance and heartache, that can only mean one thing…"

"Yes," Ziva agreed, "that I think they are fun to listen to."

"No," Abby refused to budge in her assessment, "You've got a crush on someone." She eyed Ziva, "you don't have to hide it from me, I _know_ you; it's the only likely explanation for this."

Ziva was silent for a moment as she contemplated how to stand her ground, but Abby was not Tony. She was not as easily manipulated, or doubted herself as much, when she was certain about something, she believed in it completely and would not be convinced otherwise. "What does it matter if I…_like_ someone; that does not mean anything."

Abby's green eyes lit up, "Yes you admit it!" she gloated for a moment, "now if only you will admit _who_ it is."

"Now Abby…"

"Come on, is it Tony? It has to be Tony, I mean there has always been this 'thing' between you…except with the whole Michael thing but still, there have always been sparks."

"It is not Tony," Ziva protested.

Abby studied her for a moment, "Let's pretend that I believed you, would you tell me about him?

"There is nothing to tell," Ziva repeated, "there is no guy."

To Ziva's surprise Abby replied, "Okay, fine, there's no guy." Then she turned to one of the computers and pulled up a website, "Then how do you explain lyrics like _If you could see /that I'm the one/ who understands you/been here all along/ so why can't you see/ you belong with me._?"

"Okay Abby that's…

"And what about, _He says he so in love, he's finally got it right/I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night_?"

"Seriously Abby I…"

"Oh and then there's, _I don't think it ever crossed his mind/ he tells a joke I fake a smile/that I know all his favorite songs?"_

Ziva sighed, "Alright Abby…I get the point, that does not mean I am going to tell you who he is."

Abby scowled, "You're no fun!"

Ziva laughed softly, "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"Come on, I won't tell anyone, promise," Abby made the motion of crossing her heart while practically jumping up and down in her platform boots.

"There is nothing to tell."

Abby sighed, "Seriously, I'm not saying that you are _in love_ with Tony but you have to admit that there is an awful lot there."

"Like what?" Ziva asked, seriously curious as to how obvious she had been about her feelings.

"Well you tease him for no apparent reason."

"There is _always_ a reason."

She smiled, "Yeah, it's called flirting."

"Tony flirts with everyone," Ziva reminded her, "he flirted with the mailwoman downstairs this morning."

"But he always goes back to you and you always go back to him," Abby told her. She saw Ziva's reluctant expression, "I'm not saying you guys are wearing matching sweatshirts, cooking breakfast together, dancing in the rain in love but I think there are feelings there and maybe…" her voice trailed off as she saw Ziva's surprised look, "What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing," Ziva said, "I was just thinking… but it was silly." Ziva looked down at her watch, "I should go."

"But you never…"

"Goodbye Abby." Ziva rushed out the door without looking back until she was in the elevator.

Only when the doors closed did she lean back against the wall and sigh, she couldn't shake that memory that had rushed back into her thoughts when Abby had said, "dancing in the rain".

Some things were too difficult to hide…

* * *

_Ziva tapped out the song in her head on her knee, it was one of her favorite Taylor Swift songs and it had been running through her mind all day. She had no idea why she couldn't seem to shake the song, maybe it was because it had been raining all day or something._

_Eventually Tony caught wind that she was distracted by something, "What's on your mind Zee-vah?" He was driving but he glanced at her for a moment._

_"Nothing," she told him, "just a song."_

_"Which one?"_

_She smiled, "You do not know it."_

_He grinned, "Come on, I'm giving you a ride, the least you could do is satisfy my curiosity."_

_"I did not ask you to drive me, you offered," she pointed out._

_"Yes well, Abby wanted us all to meet at the bar, your car is in the shop and I was feeling chivalrous."_

_"How gallant of you," she replied, "but I'm still not going to tell you."_

_Tony pulled into the parking lot smoothly and stopped the car. The rain had stopped a few minutes before but the pavement was still filled with puddles. Ziva couldn't help but smile, it the moment was just like in the song she'd been thinking about…with the one person she would always think about._

**There's somethin' 'bout the way  
The street looks when it's just rained  
There's a glow off the pavement**

**You walk me to the car**

_"What are you smiling about?" Tony asked as he came up beside her._

_"I am happy Tony, do I need another reason?" she replied, there was no way she would tell him her temptation to follow the lyrics to the song she couldn't stop thinking about. _

**And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there  
In the middle of the parking lot  
Yeah**

_Tony didn't say anything else, just grabbed her arm to steer her into the bar. Ziva couldn't help but notice her skin tingled where he touched her. The night was going very well for her._

_Abby was sitting at a table with McGee, Ducky and even Gibbs. She caught sight of them as the walked through the doorway and she waved them over. "You're here!"_

_"We said we would," Tony said as they got close enough. He helped Ziva into a seat and then he sat down next to her. What was going on here, Ziva couldn't help but wonder, offering her a ride, helping her to her seat, was Tony trying to be…romantic?_

_She liked that thought._

**We're drivin' down the road  
I wonder if you know  
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now**

_Ziva shook her head, no she wouldn't get her hopes up like that, it was silly to think that Tony would be interested in her like that._

_Then he leaned down close to ear, "You want some Tequila?"and she shivered when she felt his breath against her skin. She couldn't speak; all she could do was nod._

_He winked at her and her heart skipped a beat._

**But you're just so cool  
Run your hands through your hair  
Absent mindedly makin' me want you**

_She watched him walk to the bartender, she just couldn't tear her eyes away from him._

_What was wrong with her?_

**And I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance **

**In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless**

_Tony came back to the table with their drinks, only then did Ziva realize that she hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation around her at all. She was caught up in his smile._

_"Hey Tony!" Abby exclaimed, "we were talking about what scares us the most, what are _you_ afraid of."_

_"Commitment," Ziva said before Tony could speak, the rest of the table burst out laughing, nodding in agreement._

_Tony turned to her with a grin, "Actually I was going to say Israeli assassins."_

_She raised an eyebrow, "I scare you Tony?"_

_"You terrify me." The way he whispered that made her shiver, it sounded like he had meant it…but in a different way._

**So baby drive slow  
'til we run out of road in this one horse town  
I wanna stay right here**

_Tony never stopped looking into her eyes, his gaze was steady and for the life of her she couldn't look away. "What are you afraid of Ziva?"_

Of my feelings_, she thought but she didn't say that. Instead she shook her head, "Nothing."_

_"Oh come on, you've got to have something."_

_His eyes still searched her, haunting her which is why she said, "I am too afraid to dance in the rain."_

**In this passenger's seat  
You put your eyes on me  
In this moment now capture it, remember it**

_Tony looked surprised by that answer, "Why?"_

_Ziva searched for an answer, "I never have the courage to ask someone."_

_Abby raised an eyebrow, "Who would you dance with?"_

_Ziva shook her head, "I do not know," she said and let the conversation change, but her eyes kept turning back to her partner and god help her, he was looking at her._

**Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance**

**In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless**

_One by one the group left until it was just Tony and Ziva nursing their drinks at the table, the conversation never lagged and laughter was almost always occurring. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had fun like this before._

_She didn't want it to end._

_But eventually the two of them made their way out of the bar but Tony stopped once they walked a couple of steps in the parking lot and he laughed._

_It was raining._

_"What?" Ziva asked when she noticed that he was looking at her with a determined look._

_"Maybe you should face your fear."_

_Her eyes widened, "No,"_

_"Oh yes," he said and took her hand, the music from the bar was filtering through the air. A steady downpour of rain was soaking them through_

**Well you stood there with me in the doorway  
My hands shake  
I'm not usually this way but**

_Tony pulled her close against him, slipping one arm around her waist and holding the other aloft, he began to sway with her in time to the music. She laughed aloud as she realized how silly they looked._

_They were dancing in the rain._

**You pull me in and I'm a little more brave**

_He continued to sway with her gently in the rain, but he wasn't laughing or smiling anymore. Now he was looking at her with a peculiar expression: fascination._

_She sobered as her heart raced, what was he thinking?_

**It's the first kiss,  
It's flawless,  
Really something,**

_Her hands began to shake and her blood was surging in her veins as he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers._

**  
It's fearless.**

_"Ziva!"_

_She woke up with a start, her head nearly knocking into Tony's. She blinked looking around, but the parking lot, the rain, the kiss…all of that was gone. Instead it was the NCIS squad room and her own desk, her neck stiff from sleeping at an angle._

_And her iPod was blaring in her ears._

**Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless**

_"Hey, you fell asleep," Tony said as she still looked around a little disoriented, "You should have gone home._

_Ziva nodded, throwing her iPod and the rest of her things in her bag, all she wanted to do was to go back to that dream._

_With Tony._

**And I don't know why but with you I'd dance**

**In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless**

_"You okay?" Tony asked as they got onto the elevator together._

_"I am fine," she told him softly, "I just had a dream…I was dancing in the rain."_

_Tony raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Sounds like something from a Chick Flick…were you with anybody?"_

_Ziva didn't look at him, couldn't look at him. "I do not remember," she lied and didn't say anything else._

_She didn't want to ruin her perfect dream._

**Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance**

**In a storm in my best dress  
Fearless**

_They made their way to their cars, ready to go their separate ways…but it began to rain. A steady down pour with the pavement becoming wet in seconds, the street lights glowing off of the puddles._

_It looked exactly the same._

_Ziva stopped in her tracks looking around, at the lights, the rain…and Tony. Standing there, soaking wet, just the same as he had looked a few minutes ago in her dream._

_Right before he had kissed her._

_But that was just a dream. Here he looked at her confused, "Ziva…what's wrong?"_

_All she could do was look at him, she wanted to ask him to dance, wanted to say something, everything that she felt about him and all of the hopes she had._

_But she couldn't dance with him in the rain._

_Because she wasn't fearless._

* * *

A/N: How many of you guys want to kill me that the kiss was just a dream? LOL, sorry but I had to do it! Of course Tony was acting VERY flirty in her dream but hey that was Ziva's perfect night with him of course he would be acting all in to her!

Please review and tell me what you think


	5. White Horse

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not NCIS, not Taylor Swift, just my own thoughts in my own head

A/N: Wow that took a while didn't it? I'm soooo sorry that I took so long to write this chapter. At first it was just life invading my fanfiction world, then it was writers block. For some reason I had a real hard time coming up with the opening to this chapter. Finally a couple of nights ago I was wide awake with a migraine, trying to go to sleep when I started thinking about this story and finally I had an epiphany as to what to do for this chapter.

I'm so glad that this has finally been written, this chapter is one of my favorites as it is a little different then the others.

Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 5: White Horse

Tony stared at Ziva as she busily tapped on the computer keyboard; his mind was still filled with figuring out his favorite ninja assassin. The riddle of Taylor Swift was becoming his Kobayashi Maru, a puzzle that he just had to solve or it would be the death of him. All he could think about were reasons and none of them seemed to make any sense!

"Teenage trauma," was one of the ideas that popped into this head.

"What?!"

He looked up to see Ziva looking at him strangely that was when he realized that he had spoken out loud. "I was just uh…well…" now he was babbling like an idiot, "to hell with this I've _got_ to know. Ziva I am begging you tell me why the heck do you listen to Taylor Swift?!"

Her eyes were wide with a hint of concern, "Tony, I just like her music."

"That's not a reason!"

He'd said that a lot louder than he had intended to and half of the building looked up at him startled. Ziva looked around at all of the prying eyes; her eyebrows were up straight to her hairline. "Are you crazy?" she asked in a harsh low tone, "people can see you!"

"I'm dying here Ziva…I've got to know! All I can think about is you and this obsession with a teenage queen of country music! I'm having dreams that I'm stuck in this room filled with her music and you are sitting the corner laughing that I'm not getting it!"

Ziva looked around at the people staring, some giggling at her partner's melt down. So quickly, she rushed over and yanked Tony from behind his desk and all but dragged him into the men's room, their choice of room for confrontations.

"What is your problem?!" she asked him as soon as the door closed behind them, "You are acting like you lost your balls."

"Marbles," Tony corrected, "like I've lost my marbles."

"Tony!" She shrieked obviously exasperated by him. She rubbed a hand over her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again, "You are upset over Taylor Swift, yes?"

"I'm not upset over _her_ I'm upset that I can't figure _you _out!"

"Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?!" Ziva asked, "They are just songs!"

"No they are not! Not to you!"

"You are losing your mind!"

"Yes I know!" he exclaimed, "and I need you to save me from insanity." Tony looked her in the eyes, "I've got to know why. Who do you think about when you hear those songs? What parts of your life do they remind you of? It's driving me crazy!"

Ziva was silent. She looked away from Tony, at the tile on the wall. His voice sounded so desperate, his emotions sincere. He wanted to understand her, wanted to know about her, and that made her heart ache. How many times had she thought he wouldn't want to know? Now he did.

It was tempting, so very tempting, to tell him everything that he wanted. Tell him whose face she saw ever time that wistful guitar played. The face she saw when the lamp lights reflected off of the wet pavement. The face she thought of when she woke up in the morning and the last when she closed her eyes at night.

But what would he say? What would he do? If he turned it all down…no, she couldn't. After so many heartaches, so much pain she'd gone through the last few months. Hope for the future, for him, had been the one thing that had kept her going. If she lost that now…

She didn't want to imagine what she would feel.

But Tony's eyes were so desperate, so sad. She had to do something, something to appease him. Something to prove how much she really did trust him.

"Alright," Ziva said softly, "I will tell you about one song."

"Yes!" Tony shouted and pumped a fist into the air, "Which one?!"

"_White Horse_," she told him.

He thought for a moment, trying to remember which song that was, "Isn't that the one about breaking up with some guy and leaving or something like that?"

"Yes," Ziva nodded.

Tony still looked eager, "So who does the song remind you of?"

Ziva sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "My father."

That surprised him; he took a step back, "What?"

She shook her head and leaned up against the wall, "The song reminds me of how foolish I acted, how I put my trust with a man that I knew was not a good person. He raised me to be a killer, bore a son just so he could be a spy, sent me to kill that son when he went rogue," Her voice began to shake now, "sent a man to seduce me so I would go back, then lied to me after I did, and then tried to make me the criminal so I would be forced to return." Ziva looked away, across the bathroom, anywhere but in Tony's eyes, "I kept on hoping that maybe someday he would turn around and be the father I needed…I wanted it so badly that I stopped believing in the people who _were_ there for me."

Tony stepped up close to her, "If it reminds you of such a painful time, why do you listen to it?"

Now she looked up at him and smiled a tiny bit, "So that I do not forget, so I remember who I can trust." The smile widened a little more, "And the song has a hopeful ending, and I like that thought, that maybe someday I will find what I need."

A tear slipped down her cheek and Tony couldn't help himself, he reached over and gently brushed it away with his thumb, "What if you already have?"

She couldn't tear her eyes away from his; she couldn't even breathe as long as his fingertip was touching her skin. Now she realized how close they were standing, now she realized how alone they were, and now the tension between them was so thick.

Her heartbeat quickened, _oh god he's going to kiss me_ she thought.

Perhaps he would have.

But the door to the bathroom opened and one of the agents from the legal department walked in, ruining the moment completely.

"I'm sorry," the intruder said quickly, obviously thinking correctly that he was intruding on something, and he all but ran away from the room.

Ziva almost laughed; laughed because she didn't want to cry. It was always like that wasn't it, so close and yet so far.

She shook her head, "I have paperwork I have to do," before fleeing to the safe haven of her desk and escaping into mundane tasks to escape the demons her own mind had conjured forth.

* * *

_ Ziva placed the last piece of paper on the pile of finished paper and threw down her pen with satisfaction. She leaned back in her chair, rolled her sore neck until she felt a satisfied 'pop' and sighed, relieved to finally be finished._

_ As per her initiation of officially being accepted as an NCIS agent, Tony and McGee had left the paperwork they had been fighting over one _her_ desk and rushed merrily home, grinning back even as she glared daggers at them._

_ Not that it mattered so much, little could bring her spirits down. She picked up the paper on the side of her desk and smiled at the words 'accepted' that were stamped over her name. Next she picked up the badge and ID that one of the boys from legal had dropped off earlier. Both had the official insignia of an NCIS agent, and now her name on the ID read "__Agent__ Ziva David", no longer an officer for Mossad, now she was staying home with the only people she knew as family: permanently._

_ Of course after spending hours doing the paperwork for two people, she was ready to get to her brand new apartment and relax. Then she groaned, how could she relax when there were a million boxes that still needed to be unpacked?_

_ Annoyed at the turn of events, she began to pack her things when her cell phone began to ring. She didn't even have to look at the number to know who it was. Her father had been calling her consistently since she had failed to return to Israel with his man, his phone calls had only increased since she had been officially instated as an NCIS agent, now doubt Director Vance had told him of her new status._

_ She had been screening his calls, not having the energy to deal with her father and what he would consider a betrayal. Instead Ziva picked up all of her things and shut the light off on her desk and made her way out of the building to her car._

_ Her cell phone rang again a few minutes later as she was starting her car. _You'll have to deal with him eventually_, Ziva thought to herself before finally accepting the call._

_ "Hello father," Ziva said, pressing her phone to her ear with one hand and with the other turning the car out of the parking lot._

_ For a full ten minutes she half listened to her father's long string of Hebrew, he was angry and upset, throwing words around like "duty", "family", "blood" and "obligation," but she'd heard them all before and this time she knew what lies were._

_ Her iPod was resting on the car attachment, playing on low volume but she could listen to the familiar song that began to play:_

**Say you're sorry, that face of an angel**

**Comes out just when you need it to**

_ Finally she broke in, "No father, I am not going to fall for that speech again. You lied to me…you have always lied to me."_

_ "I told you what you needed to hear."_

_ "No you lied to me so that I would follow you in blind faith," she replied, "you lied to me so that I would do what _you _needed, not what would be best for _me_."_

**As I paced back and forth all this time**

**Cause I honestly believed in you**

_"What is best for you is to be with your family."_

_ She almost laughed, "We are not a family, family does not use each other, does not hurt each other, does not leave them to die in the desert at the hands of terrorists," her voice quivered, "family saves each other."_

**Holding on the days drag on**

**Stupid girl, I should have know**

**I should have known**

_ "You never saw me as anything more than an asset," She continued, "I was just another tool for you to use to further your own goals. Just another officer."_

_ "I'm your father!"_

_ "Then you should have acted like one!"_

**I'm not a princess**

**This ain't a fairytale**

**I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet**

**Lead her up the stairwell**

**This ain't Hollywood**

**This is a small town**

**I was a dreamer before you went and let me down**

_ She sighed and rested her head against the back of her seat, "It is too late to fix the damage father, too late for you to be my father."_

**Now it's too late for you and your white horse**

**To come around**

_ Her father was quiet for a moment, obviously trying to think of another reason to get her to change her mind. Ziva continued to drive home, ignoring the steady patter of rain, grateful that the weather suited her mood perfectly._

_ "What about Michael?"_

_ Ziva was taken aback by that question and almost ran through a red light. She slammed on her bakes and skidded to a stop. "What does Michael have to do with this?" she asked, she didn't like where this was going._

_ "You care for him," he pointed out, "he wanted you to come back home, wanted you to be with your family."_

_ She was quiet as she let herself reflect on her relationship with Michael, the complications that had resulted in it, his death at the hands of her partner._

**Maybe I was naïve got lost in your eyes**

**And never really had a chance**

_She brushed away tears as she remembered attacking Tony in Israel, so incensed at him for killing Michael. She had been wrapped up in her father's lies but Tony had seen through it all and manipulated her father into telling the truth._

**My mistake I didn't know**

**To be in love**

**You had to fight to have the upper hand**

_Love didn't mean lies and deception. Michael hadn't loved her…and she hadn't loved him. Something she was now certain of._

"_Michael did not want me to go home," she finally said, "he wanted to follow your orders. You wanted me to care for him so that I would go running back to you. How could you do that to your daughter? How could you send someone to lie to me like that?!" She stopped trying to brush the tears from her face, it was a useless gesture at this point. "I thought that coming to America after Ari died would be a good thing…that the distance would do us some good. I hoped that time would make things better between you and me."_

**I had so many dreams **

**About you and me**

**Happy endings**

**Now I know**

_ "But it did not," Ziva continued, "I found what family is supposed to be like. Seen how fathers are supposed to be with their daughters, seen how people can have more love between them even if they do not share blood. I want to stay with these people. They are my family."_

**I'm not a princess**

**This ain't a fairytale**

**I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet**

**Lead her up the stairwell**

**This ain't Hollywood**

**This is a small town**

**I was a dreamer before you went and let me down**

**Now it's too late for you and your white horse**

**To come around**

_ Now she saw the soon to be familiar sight of her new apartment building, an oasis from the rain and a symbol of her new life, one away from her father's poisoned influence. She smoothly turned into the parking lot and found an empty space. She climbed out of the car and began to walk up the stairs towards her apartment._

_ Her father wasn't saying a word and she was beginning to wonder if their connection had been cut off. She was about ready to hang up the phone when he finally spoke, "Ziva…I am sorry, I am sorry that I was not a true father for you. I want you to come home so we can work this out. Please come home."_

**And there you are on your knees**

**Begging for forgiveness**

**Begging for me**

_ Tears fell down her cheeks again and her breath caught in her throat. Here was what she'd always wanted to hear…but she couldn't believe that._

_ "No," she whispered into the phone, "I am not going back, I cannot go back"_

**Just like I always wanted**

**But I'm so sorry**

_ "Why?"_

_ She took a deep breath to steady her voice, "Because I was never yoru princess…never your daughter…and it is too late to change it. Too late to go back."_

_ Ziva hung up the phone before he could protest and let herself cry softly for a few moments._

**Cause I'm not your princess**

_ He didn't try and call again…for that she was grateful._

**This ain't a fairytale**

_ Finally Ziva cleaned up the remains of the tears from her face and opened the door to her apartment with a heavy heart._

_ She turned the light on._

_ "SURPRISE!"_

_ Ziva was startled, and almost drew her gun. Her apartment was unpacked and clean. There were streamers decorating the room, a banner reading "Welcome Home!" and a cake on the table. Abby and McGee were behind the sofa grinning, Ducky and Palmer were standing behind the kitchen counter, and Tony was standing behind the chair he had been hiding behind. Gibbs was in the corner just smiling._

_ Her family was there._

**I'm gonna find someone someday**

**Who might actually treat me well**

_ "What's going on?" she asked still stunned but now her heart was just a little bit lighter…and she had a reason to smile._

_ "Abby set it up," McGee said quickly, "and you know Abby…it's hard to tell her no."_

_ Ziva nodded and walked into the apartment as Abby rushed up to hug her, "We wanted to let you know how happy we are that you are back…for _good!"

**This is a big world**

**That was a small town**

_ "And we figured that you needed help unpacking," McGee said, "hope you don't mind."_

_ Ziva almost started to cry again, happy tears this time, instead she smiled brightly, "I am so glad you are here…so glad that _I_ am here."_

**There in my rearview mirror**

**Disappearing now**

_ She went around the room and hugged each of them, kissing Ducky on the cheek and smiling warmly at Gibbs. He was looking at her with a proud look in his eyes; it was almost as if he knew that she had been speaking to her father a few moments ago. As if he knew what she had said what she had finally come to realize._

_ This was Gibbs…he probably _did _know._

**And it's too late for you and your white horse**

**Now it's too late for you and your white horse**

_ She was hugging McGee when her eyes caught Tony's. He was looking at her intently, as if trying to read her mind. Things had been better between them since she had apologized to him, but they still weren't as good as they'd once been._

_ She hated that._

_ Now Tony saluted her with his open beer bottle but didn't step forward. She wanted to fix things with Tony._

_She needed to fix things with Tony._

**To catch me now**

_ The party became a whirlwind of good wishes, fun chatter and delicious cake. Ziva laughed over a few of the places they had stored some of her items, they hadn't put everything where she would have and they got a kick out of watching her fix their mistakes._

_ She opened the presents that they had given her, her heart continued to mend more and more with each moment with her family. They knew what to say and what to do; they made her feel at peace._

**Oh whoa, whoa, whoa**

**Try and catch me now**

_ The party continued to be festive but it couldn't completely erase her feelings of sadness…mostly because she still couldn't get a quiet moment to talk to Tony and sort through their problems._

_ She walked out onto her small balcony, watching her friends laughing through the glass doors. She was almost startled when Tony came to the doorway and walked out to meet her. "Nice place you got here."_

_ "I like it," Ziva replied smiling but she toyed with the neck of the beer bottle in her hand. So many unsaid questions. She wanted to know if the damage between them was permanent. If her feelings for her partner were gone forever._

_ "You've got a good TV in there too," Tony said, "big enough to watch some good movies on it."_

_ "You mean that?" She asked, smiling for real this time._

_ He nodded, "If you let me choose the first movie to watch." She laughed out loud and nodded. Now he grew serious and pulled out something from his pocked, "I almost forgot…this is for you."_

_ "Tony, really it is not necessary," but she opened the box to see a small charm resting in it. A miniature replica of an NCIS agent badge, similar to the pins that they had for children._

_ "It goes on your necklace," Tony explained and pointed at her necklace that had the Star of David resting above her breastbone. "I figured…that those are your roots," and he pointed at the charm now, "and these are your wings."_

_ Ziva was genuinely touched by his thoughtful gift. He knew that she couldn't forget her past but needed to move forward…and had found a way to tell her that he understood. That he didn't begrudge her anything. Now with the planned movie nights and the soft smiles…_

**Oh it's too late**

_ She looked up into his eyes._

_ Her heart began to race and her breath caught in her chest…just like always. This was the man she truly wanted. This was the man she knew was right for her…and no deception was responsible for these feelings._

_ She was still in love with him…she was certain of that._

**To catch me now**

**

* * *

**A/N: You just know that the reason Tony and McGee gave Ziva all that paperwork was so that she would be busy while they worked on setting up her apartment for her party right? LOL well in MY head that is what happened!

Next I'll do Taylor's latest single and it will be set in romantic Paris! Can't wait.

I promise to get the next chapter out faster, I'm having my sister swear to tie me to my computer if I start to fall behind!

Please review!


	6. The Way I Loved You

Disclaimer: Still own absolutely nothing

A/N: So I lied. This chapter isn't about Paris, if you want to blame some one blame Lealfaithful! I looked through some of my older reviews and she asked me to do a chapter to the song "The Way I Loved You, " a song I'd never heard of. So I listened to it once and was amazed at how much it fit Tony and Ziva, the second time I listened to it an idea was forming and the third time I listened to it I knew that I was doomed

So this chapter is dedicated to Lealfaithful for finding what might be my new favorite Taylor Swift song! LOL once again if you guys have some suggestions for songs, be my guest, I might just find inspiriation!

PS: I updated this story 2 days after White Horse! I'm so proud of myself!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Way I Loved You

Since their talk in the men's room the day before Tony had been unusually quiet about Ziva's taste in music. She was grateful that he wasn't pestering her anymore about it, breaking down like that in front of him had been hard, at the same time she could see that there was more respect and understanding in his eyes.

A part of her felt relieved that she'd finally let Tony know how much her father and Michael had hurt her. She wasn't a very open person so telling anyone about her mistakes was not easy, but telling Tony was something she thought was impossible. But after a while of Tony not speaking to her, Ziva began to worry. Had she gone too far? Why wouldn't he talk to her?

It was beginning to frustrate her; she just couldn't take sitting at her desk watching Tony work without knowing why he wasn't being as talkative as usual. Fed up, she left her paperwork and went down to spend a few minutes with Abby.

As soon as she walked in Abby exclaimed, "Uh oh, what's wrong?"

Ziva looked up confused, "Why do you assume something is wrong?"

"Because you have that sad face that only happens when you're upset about something." Abby smiled her trademark bright smile and handed Ziva her caf-pow, "Here, this will help."

Ziva laughed softly, "Well it cannot hurt," and she took a sip.

Abby pushed a couple of buttons on her computer, letting the evidence run through the database, "Alright, I'm all yours, tell me what's wrong."

She looked down at the large drink in her hand before setting it aside, "Tony had a break-up yesterday over the music I listen to."

"You mean Tony had a break-_down_ over Taylor Swift and I actually heard about that," Abby chirped, "Johnny from upstairs saw the whole thing…Tony is really having a hard time with this isn't he?"

"Well he is frustrated that I do not want to share personal details of my life with him," Ziva explained, rolling her eyes, "Only Tony would be bothered by me not sharing my secrets."

Abby chuckled, "I doubt it is secrets that bother him so much as not knowing who your mystery man is." Her green eyes flashed up to Ziva's slyly, "Any chance you'll be willing to tell _me_?" Ziva smiled but her face was guarded and Abby already knew the answer, "It was worth a shot."

Ziva shook her head, "It does not matter, yesterday I spoke to Tony about his obsession and I agreed to tell him about one of the songs and why it means so much to me." Ziva looked down at the floor and then back up to Abby, "I told him about how much my father and Michael hurt me."

Abby looked surprised by that statement but smiled again, "That's a good thing Ziva, out of everyone Tony was the one you really needed to talk to about that…considering you held a gun to him in Israel."

"Yes thank you for reminding me of that," Ziva replied a little upset.

"Sorry," her friend replied, "but it is true, he really needed to know _why_ you were so angry and everything you went through afterwards."

"Yes but since then he seems uncomfortable around me," she explained, "I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake in telling him."

Abby studied Ziva for a moment, "Did you tell him anything…scary or crazy?"

Ziva shook her head, "I told him as much as I told you."

"Well then the best way for you to find out why Tony is acting so strange is to _ask_ him."

"And how should I do that?"

Abby grinned, "Do what Gibbs does…use the elevator."

* * *

Tony was ready to go home, he had a bag of popcorn waiting and a whole season of Magnum P.I. still needing to be watched. He was already relishing the thought of watching Tom Selleck get out of what ever scrape he'd gotten into next when the elevator doors opened and he stepped in.

And a blur that looked a lot like Ziva rushed in after him.

Tony looked from the now closed doors then to his partner and back again, she stopped the elevator just as he said, "You move _really_ fast."

But Ziva was all business, "We need to talk."

"Ah so that explains your use of super speed Wonder Woman."

She looked at him seriously, "Tony, tell me why you will not speak to me."

"Well I'm speaking to you right now."

Now she gave him her death glare, "Ever since we talked in the bathroom you have barely said one word to me that did not involve work. I want to know what is wrong."

Tony sighed, "Nothing…I'm fine."

Ziva shook her head exasperated and started the elevator, "I never should have told you about my father and Michael."

Now Tony was the one that reached over and stopped the elevator, "Why would you say that?"

She turned to look at him again, "Obviously it was not what you wanted to hear. If it was then you would actually be talking to me instead of trying to avoid me."

"You think I'm upset that you told me about your family?" Tony asked confused and a little hurt, "Ziva I…it means a lot that you put that kind of trust in me."

"Then why are you so unhappy?!"

"I just…" Tony began but cut off; he looked away for a moment as if he didn't want to meet her gaze. Finally he looked back at her and she saw anger in his eyes, "Its Michael isn't it?"

"What?" She looked genuinely confused…it killed him, it really did.

"The guy that you think about when you listen to those songs…it's Michael." He looked away again, "I get it, the guy meant a lot to you..."

"Tony…"

"But he wasn't a good guy Ziva," Tony continued, "he wasn't right for you and you deserved better than him…"

"Tony…"

"I think that you should find someone else, someone that isn't so creepy and have this almost evil complex, someone who…"

"Tony!" Ziva practically shouted to get his attention, "It is not Michael."

Tony blinked a couple of times in surprise, "He isn't?"

Now she smiled a little, "No Tony, you are right. Michael was not right for me and I think I knew that all along, I just did not want to believe that."

"But the guy you think about when you listen to Taylor Swift…he really isn't Michael."

"No," Ziva explained, "if I think about Michael at all…well he isn't the 'good man' in those songs," now she put a hand on his shoulder, "and it was nice of you worry about me."

Now Tony smiled, "Well I just want to make sure that this guy, whoever he is, is good enough for you."

She smiled again, this time with a sly look, "Someone like you I suppose?"

"Well I don't…" for some reason he just couldn't say no to that but he just couldn't figure out why…or was afraid to.

Ziva pressed the button to start the elevator again, "You can relax Tony. I have learned my lesson. I am not going to stay with a man because he just makes me 'comfortable' and seems to fit everyone else's idea of what is perfect for me."

That got Tony curious, "So who are you going to look for?"

She smiled, "Someone I am crazy in love with."

And she stepped out of the elevator and walked away.

* * *

_Ziva turned the roast one more time before putting it back into the oven, another twenty minutes and it would be finished. The Greek salad with feta cheese was chilling in the refrigerator and the mashed potatoes with fresh green beans were simmering on the stove. Now she opened up a bottle of wine to let it breathe and set it on the counter._

_She'd told Abby to come by around seven o'clock so she still had some time until then. Their girl's night dinners had been a tradition between the two of them for a long time. Starting when Ziva had been trying to win over the Goth scientist not long after she had joined NCIS, a couple of dinners between them had allowed Abby to realize that Ziva wasn't trying to replace Kate. After Somalia Ziva had been eager to restart this tradition in an attempt to move on from that time in her life._

_With some time on her hands, Ziva decided to tackle a few of the remaining boxes left over from her move, these had been the latest to be shipped over from Israel. Ziva put on a CD in the player to have something to listen to while she unpacked; she smiled over the familiar lyrics to her favorite Taylor Swift song before getting to work. She carefully peeled off the tape and opened the flaps to see some miscellaneous items, some she recognized as things from her desk, including the letter opener Tony had given her for Hanukah after she'd tried to steal his again for the umpteenth time. She smiled as she lifted it out of box and put it on the table; she'd have to remember to bring that to NCIS tomorrow._

_After taking some junk items that she would probably throw away she was surprised to see a familiar object. The picture of Michael she'd hidden in her desk._

_She stopped unpacking and walked over to the couch with the picture in her hands. She looked over Michael's familiar features, remember when it had been taken and tried to remember why she had decided to photograph him in the first place. Michael had rapidly become a dark spot in her past she wanted to forget, at the same time she knew she'd had some good times with him._

**He is sensible and**

**So incredible and**

**All my single friends are jealous**

_Ziva was startled by the song that began to play, she'd heard it before of course but it seemed different to her right now. How fitting was this song? She remembered hating it the first time that she heard it, not long after she had come back the America while still seeing Michael. The song had made her uncomfortable._

_Because she related to it too much._

**He says everything I**

**Need to hear and its like**

**I couldn't ask for anything better**

_Ziva tried to remember the good times she'd had with Michael. There was that time after her explosion in Morocco where he'd come to the hospital with her father to check on her…but she also remembered waking up and wishing that Gibbs, Tony, Abby, Ducky and McGee had been there instead._

**He opens up my door and I get into his car**

**And he says you look beautiful tonight**

_She remembered spending time with him in Israel, having fun…at the same time she'd been missing someone else. The first date she'd gone with Michael she'd dreamed of Tony the night before._

**And I feel perfectly fine**

_Now Ziva turned to her coffee table and picked up the framed picture of Tony and set it side by side with the photograph of Michael._

_With Michael she had always been missing something, something she hadn't wanted to admit._

**But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain**

**And it's 2 am and I'm cursing your name**

**You're so in love that you act insane**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_She smiled at the picture of Tony, as she remembered every detail of that picture. She'd been trying to get a good picture of him at the Christmas party but every time she'd take a picture he'd make a funny face. It wasn't until she got so irritated that she'd threatened to kill him with a Christmas ornament that he'd finally settled down._

_That was Tony, irritating and charming all at the same time._

**Breaking down and coming undone**

**It's a roller coaster kind of rush**

**And I never knew I could feel that much**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_Ziva heard footsteps in the hallway, that was when she saw what time it was. Quickly she abandoned both pictures to turn off the stereo and let Abby in._

_But some songs just couldn't leave you alone._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_The dinner with Abby was as wonderful as the other times she'd spent alone with her friend. Ziva was getting desert and letting Abby finish her wine she her friend walked over to the sofa. _

_She didn't think anything of it until she heard Abby ask "Why do you have a picture of Michael here?"_

_Ziva looked up to see Abby holding the picture of Michael so that she could see it. Ziva almost dropped the trifle in her hands, she hadn't wanted Abby to see that, not when she didn't know what to do with that herself._

_"I forgot to put that away," Ziva replied lamely and decided to be more truthful, "Actually I forgot to decide what to do with it, whether to keep it or just throw it out."_

_"Why would you want to throw it away?" Abby asked, "You loved him didn't you?"_

_Ziva shook her head, "I _liked_ him." She dished out two servings of the dessert and took them over to Abby, along with her glass of wine._

_Abby set the photograph down and took a sip of wine, "You never really talked about Michael…you can tell me you know?"_

_"I would rather forget about him."_

_"You can't do that, you need to deal with it first," Abby explained, "Otherwise it is just going to eat away at you and that isn't good."_

_"Alright," Ziva said, "how do I 'deal' with Michael?"_

_Abby shrugged, "Well…why did you like him in the first place."_

_Ziva was quiet for a moment as she thought about what drew her to Michael in the first place. He had handsome and charming true…but that wasn't why she'd started to see him. What had drawn her to him?_

_Safety._

**He respects my space**

**And never makes me wait**

**And he calls exactly when he says he will**

_"He was what everyone thought I needed," Ziva finally said, "He knew my family, was involved with Mossad, understood my past and respected me. My father liked him and approved of him, he did not try to push me or get me to open up and talk about anything I did not want to talk about."_

_"Sounds perfect," Abby mused although her voice hinted that she was suspicious, she knew the results and knew Michael had been far from perfect._

**He's close to my mother**

**Talks business with my father**

**He's charming and endearing**

_Ziva nodded, "It was easy to be with him, easy to understand him and easy to get along with him…that was the problem."_

**And I'm comfortable**

_"I was just satisfied with him," Ziva explained, "I was thinking about what everyone else thought would be good for me that I overlooked my own feelings."_

_"Feelings?" Abby asked, "You mean you had feelings for someone else?"_

_And there was the real reason she had turned to Michael, the reason Ziva was afraid to tell anyone about. How for a time she had given up on ever being with Tony and let herself forget the difference between liking someone and being in love._

**But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain**

**And it's 2 am and I'm cursing your name**

**You're so in love that you act insane**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_Ziva smiled, "Michael was too much like me. I need someone who will not keep me 'comfortable' but keep me _excited_. Someone who drives me crazy but keeps things fun for me."_

**Breaking down and coming undone**

**It's a roller coaster kind of rush**

**And I never knew I could feel that much**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_Abby nodded, "You are serious enough, you need someone who gets you to let your hair down."_

_"Yes, with Michael…sometimes it felt like I was just _pretending_, probably because I was pretending. He did not make me feel anything…I need someone who makes me feel like I am in love._

**He can't see the smile I'm faking**

**And my heart's not breaking**

**Cause I'm not feeling anything at all**

_Now Ziva eyes darted over to the picture of Tony on the side table. Tony was the one who drove her crazy with her antics, was the one that made her scream sometimes at his insipid comments and want to kill him when he was being particularly annoying._

_He was also the one that made her laugh when she needed to. The one that she would never get bored with. The one who every moment she was with him she could feel every part of her alive and excited, like she was super charged with energy._

**And you were wild and crazy**

**Just so frustrating intoxicating**

**Complicated, got away by some mistake**

_And her foolishness might have ended that._

**And now**

_Before she could tell Abby more, there was a knock on her door. Confused, Ziva got up to answer it only to be surprised to see Tony standing in her doorway._

_"Tony…what are you…?"_

_Before she could get the whole sentence out he charged in, "Okay, I figured it's time I introduced you to some real classics of cinema so I brought over the first two Godfathers and The Princess Bride," then he looked over and saw an amused Abby sitting on the sofa, "Oh, hey Abby, I thought I saw your Hearse in the parking lot."_

**I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain**

**It's 2 am and I'm cursing your name**

**I'm so in love that I acted insane**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_By now Ziva was glaring at him, "Abby and I were having a nice dinner…_alone!"

_Tony grinned, "But what is dinner without a movie?"_

_Abby looked over at the movies in his hand, "Actually…a movie sounds good to me," and she smiled up at Ziva._

_Ziva let out a strangled groan, "Alright Tony, put on what ever you brought," she picked up her wine glass and the photograph of Michael to go to the kitchen._

**Breaking down and coming undone**

**It's a roller coaster kind of rush**

**And I never knew I could feel that much**

**And that's the way I loved you**

_Abby followed her to the kitchen, "You okay?"_

_Ziva threw up her hands, "I am fine…I am just so…! He can be so irritating and frustrating, he drives me absolutely crazy sometimes!" She looked up to see Abby smiling a sly smile, "What?"_

_"Isn't that what you said you needed?"_

**And that's the way I loved you**

_Ziva wasn't sure what to say to that and Abby didn't say anything more. She picked up her wine glass and went back to the bedroom. Leaving Ziva to look in on Tony setting things up…and eating _her_ dessert._

_She was right of course, Tony was all those things and more. He was always wonderfully boyish, intoxicatingly charming and most of all a loyal and true friend. The one person who understood her limits and how to make her feel better when she needed it._

_The one person who made her feel alive._

_Abby looked back at Ziva and winked as if she were in on the secret._

_Ziva smiled, picked up the picture of Michael and set it down in the trash can and walked into the living room to enjoy Tony._

_And feel alive._

**Never knew I could feel that much**

**And that's the way I loved you**

* * *

A/N: So what did you think? Please review and I'm hoping to have the Paris chapter next...unless I find ANOTHER song that I have to feed my muse with! LOL


	7. Today Was a Fairytale

Disclaimer: I own absolutley nothing

A/N: So sorry it took this long guys, I didn't have as much time as I wanted and it was more difficult then I thought to write this chapter. Plus I was having problems with ! I wasn't recieving any alerts, no author alerts, story alerts or any review alerts so I had no idea that people were reading this story! Thankfully I have fixed this problem but I will write my review replies here.

**tegan-loves-ncis-TIVA-** I'm glad that you think this story is amazing, I'm also glad that you came into this story with the mindset that you did. I wrote this story with the knowledge that a lot of people were going to be confused at the idea of Taylor Swift mixing with NCIS, I'm just so happy that people seem to think that my story is working. You have paid me the highest compliment and I thank you

**Stati- **The update is here and I am sooo sorry it took so long, but I'm glad that you like this story so much

**Kiir33-** The part with the songs is the longest because right now those parts are the focus of the story. They are the part that is driving the plot one way. Don't worry the begining bits are like stepping stones leading up to my grand finale

**Godd3ssOfDeath**-I'll certainly look into those songs, I'll have to see if they fit with the story. I'm certainly not opposed to taking suggestions

**tiva2121**- I'm so glad that you enjoyed The Way I Loved You, I was really proud at how that one turned out

**Scrubs-Friends-Glee-NCISmaniac- **Oh I know what it is like without internet, like being back at the Dark Ages. I'm glad that you enjoy this story, it seems like a lot of my reviewers don't like Taylor Swift which is funny because that is what the story is about.

**csimesser1-**I'm glad that you liked it, also glad that you like Danny on CSI: NY!

**tivamcabby5**- I'm happy you checked out the song, I really recommend listening to the song while reading the fic, it really adds to it I think

**IrigD**- I'm a big fan of Taylor Swift, though not an obbsessive one LOL, I just happened to notice that these songs really fit one of my favorite pairings. It is funny how well they work.

**SemperFiNeverForget051909**- Honestly I'd rather forget Obsession, that was easily the worst episode of NCIS in the show's history. It was one of the few times where I got really really mad at the show when the episode was over. It seems like a lot of people are reccommending Invisible, I'll have to check it out

**MegWolf13**- Well the next chapter wasn't soon but it is Paris, so 1 out of 2 isn't bad right?

**lovencis10468-** I'm so glad that you love this story, and this chapter does have Paris so I hope you enjoy it

**SeaTrollTakeover-** Well the song is amazing after all, maybe it was the fact that these songs really really fit Tiva? LOL I'm just glad that you like this story

**Lealfaithful**- Your reaction was the one I was waiting for, I'm glad your reaction was what I was looking for! Yep Abby knows a lot more than Ziva thinks, that is what I believe in the show anyway, she is like Gibbs in that area. Well you will find out what happens in Paris now, I promise

**Betherezz**- Well here is the next chapter, I hope you like this song as much as you liked the others.

**VAmpiricEmbrace**- Can I just say that your screename rocks? True in real life her music wouldn't really coincide with Ziva, but that is what is funny about this story is that maybe in a weird way it is possible that they work. That is why it drives Tony crazy, she should like Swift's music so why does she?

**Stati**- Ahhh my evil plan is working, getting people to love TAylor Swift so I can take over the world! LOL I'm glad that you enjoy this story and I'm sorry it took so long for an update

**God'srider-** Well I figured that Tony really doesn't like the idea of Ziva and Micheal and he wants her to be with someone else *cough* HIM *cough* so he would just really hate that maybe Michea is the one she is thinking about. Well Lealfaithful picked a really great song, what can I say? Thank her for suggesting it.

*Whew* that took a while. Well the season of NCIS is over, I did like the finale though it could have used more Tiva. I'm trying to forget the giant mess that was the episode Obbsessed, let's forget that they already used the "falling in love with a dying person" plotline before and just skip to the fact that whoever thought it would be a good idea to turn Tony into a stalker needs to never write an NCIS episode ever again. God that episode SUCKED!

But in my universe that episode never happened so all is well, and back to this story. This was one I couldn't wait to do, a lot more fluff and a little less angst with a surprise for all shippers in here

Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 7: Today Was a Fairytale

With Ziva's recent admission that Michael Rivkin was not the source of her love for Taylor Swift, Tony was back to being his more cheerful, playful, and sometimes annoying, self. While he was now much closer to figuring out who Ziva's mystery man then he was last week, he still didn't know who he was…but he had an idea of how to solve the mystery, or at least get another clue.

Tony was smirking at Ziva for a while as he waited for the lull so he could pounce, once McGee and Gibbs left the squad room, Tony approached her desk. "So did you hear what movie just got released on DVD?"

Ziva didn't even look up at him, "No but I am certain you are going to tell me, yes?"

"Oh come on! You've got to know!"

Now she gave him an exasperated glance, "You are the one obsessed with movies, not I."

"Yes, but this movie stars your girl."

Ziva looked confused, "I do not have a girl."

He rolled his eyes, "_Valentine's Day_."

Now Ziva was really confused, "That holiday was months ago Tony."

Tony groaned, "Not the holiday, the movie! _Valentine's Day_, starring just about every A-list actor, the one that sounds like _Love Actually_ covered in pink hearts? The film debut of your favorite teen country star Taylor Swift!"

Ziva nodded, "Oh yes, I heard about that."

Tony got excited, "So you saw it!"

She leaned back in her chair, "I like her _music_ Tony; that does not mean I follow her every movement on Tweeter."

"It's _Twitter_," Tony corrected, "but that wasn't what I was talking about…did you see her movie?"

Ziva didn't reply, just smiled her secret smile that drove Tony crazy because he never knew if she meant yes or no…he had a feeling that she did that on purpose. He decided to take another tactic, "So I heard that she wrote a song for that movie."

Ziva shrugged, "It would make sense; she is a songwriter."

Tony's eyes narrowed like when he interrogated a suspect, "So you have heard it?"

She leaned back in her chair again, putting on a relaxed air, "And if I have?"

Tony moved closer to look her in the eye, "That would mean that the song means something to you."

"You already know that…"

"Yes but _this_ song is different from those," Tony explained, "for starters, it is _happy_."

Ziva smiled, "How would you know that Tony?" Her partner winced and she laughed, "You listened to her songs!"

"Well I had to do something! You weren't giving me any answers."

She chuckled again, "Does listening to her songs mean you lose some of your…masculinity?"

Tony glared at her, "Back to the question, have you heard her song?"

Ziva paused for a moment before finally answering, "Yes."

"And you like it?"

"Yes."

He took a step back, "So this song is happier, about a good day…does this mean that you had a good day with this guy?"

Ziva smiled her secret smile, "What do you think Tony?"

Now he was feeling uncomfortable, the way she was looking at him as if he should have guessed by now, as if she was almost goading him to guess. He didn't like the idea of her having a good day with this guy she liked…not that he even knew who this guy was but he had a feeling that he wasn't good for Ziva.

Not if he couldn't see how great she really was.

Tony sat down at his desk. "You won't tell me what happened?" he couldn't help but ask again.

She just smiled some more and grabbed her bag, "Au revoir Tony," she said before walking towards the elevator, all the while chuckling to herself.

Tony shook his head and muttered to himself, "I should have asked her for a hint."

* * *

_"Oh when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. That's amore!" Tony sang loudly, much to Ziva's chagrin._

_"Tony, we are about to be on a flight for over eleven hours," Ziva reminded him, "It would be best if you did not tempt me to kill you before we safely secure the witness."_

_"But we are going to Paris Ziva, the city of love or should I say _amore_," Tony grinned at her, a charming smile that made her want to hurt him and laugh all at the same time._

_"I have been to Paris before Tony; it is no different than any other city in Europe."_

_"Oh come on Ziva, its Paris!" He sighed dramatically, "I love everything French, French wine, French food, French movies, French…"_

_"Kissing," Ziva interrupted with her sensual look that she knew excited him._

_He grinned eagerly, "I was getting to that one."_

_Now she did laugh, sometimes Tony could be too charming for his own good. That was something she loved about him. She was still smiling when they went to the souvenir's shop in the airport where Tony wanted to buy some soda and candy for the flight. Ziva spent the time browsing through the long shelves of books though she didn't expect to find anything._

_It was then that she heard a familiar song on the radio playing softly in the background. She had to smile a little, the new movie with Taylor Swift had been released and the singer's new song was everywhere. It was a catchy song that Ziva enjoyed, she really liked how happy it was, a feeling that Ziva felt like she had been missing for a long time._

_But Tony was finished buying his snacks and the plane was ready to board, it was time for a long flight._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_Tony was still exuberant about the trip to Paris when they took their seats in the plane, not even Ziva reminding him that they were there to pick up a witness, not for vacation, could dampen his moods. She had a feeling that he was going to quickly become annoying._

_"Well what do you want to see in Paris Zee-Vah?" Tony asked, "The Eiffel Tower? Notre Dame? The Arc de Triomphe?"_

_"I do not believe we will have time Tony," Ziva said._

_"We have to see _something_!" He protested, "We are going to Paris, it's the law!"_

_"Gibbs said we are going to work, not to sight-see."_

_"Gibbs won't know."_

_"But Gibbs knows everything, yes?"_

_"Not everything sweetcheeks," Tony grinned suggestively, it made Ziva's stomach flip once._

_Their talk had been noticed by the flight attendant, a nice middle-aged woman that looked like she read romance novels and believed everything in them. "Let me guess," she said with a wide smile, "Newlyweds."_

_Ziva laughed and was ready to tell her the truth but Tony jumped in, "Yes we are, and I'm the happiest man on earth."_

_She turned to him with a look of shock and horror but he just winked at her and the flight attendant squealed with delight, "Oh I love newlyweds, and Paris is the perfect place for a honey moon."_

_"That's what my dad thought," Tony said and winked again at Ziva who continued to glare at him, even as the flight attendant rushed off._

_"What are you doing?"She hissed._

_"Relax; don't you know that newlyweds get free stuff?"_

_"We are not married!"_

_"She doesn't know that."_

_Ziva was still glowering and was assessing the items in the seat pocket in front of her, trying to figure out which one would be best used as a weapon to get back at her partner. When the same flight attendant stood up in front of the row of seats, "Attentions ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to announce that we have newlyweds on board!"_

_Tony and Ziva both looked up in stunned terror as the flight attendant singled them out. The entire cabin started to clap and cheer. "I am going to kill you!" Ziva hissed at Tony, the latter looked sheepish._

_But it got worse. Then some romantic passenger started to chant "Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her!" It didn't take long for more occupants of the plane to join in with the flight attendant being the loudest. Ziva was mortified, the longer she and Tony looked at each other in embarrassed silence, the louder the chanting got._

_Finally Tony rolled his eyes, "Alright" he muttered and reached across the seat to cradle her face in her hands. Before she could pull away he had pressed his lips against hers._

_The cheering inside the cabin grew louder but Ziva could barely hear it, she couldn't see, or think, but she could feel. She could feel Tony's lips warm and gentle against her, she could feel her heart rate exploding and she could feel that warm sensation in her stomach spread throughout her body, exciting her blood. It was soft passion and tenderly sweet, it seemed to last forever and was gone far too quickly._

_When Tony finally pulled away Ziva was still stunned and he looked just as surprised. They couldn't stop staring at each other, even as the passengers calmed down and the cheery flight attendant brought them free champagne. Ziva finally rushed out her seat and into the tiny bathroom, she needed to be alone to figure out what had just happened._

_Tony had kissed her…and she had kissed him back. The thought couldn't leave her alone. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, letting her memory of those sensations take her away. IT had been bliss was the only way to describe it._

_She opened her eyes to see herself in the mirror. Something was different about her, something looked strange. Then she realized what it was._

_She was smiling. Really smiling, it lit up her eyes and made her entire face seem aglow._

_She was happy. When was the last time she had felt that way? Through not fault of her own the song she had heard earlier in the airport filled her mind._

**Today was a fairytale  
You were the prince  
I used to be a damsel in distress  
You took me by the hand and you picked me up at six  
Today was a fairytale**

_The flight to Paris was awkward. Neither partner spoke much about what had happened. When Tony had fallen asleep, Ziva had taken out her iPod and listened to the song she couldn't get out of her head and let that happiness she had missed so much fill her body all over again._

**Today was a fairytale**

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_"I can't believe this!" Tony exclaimed, "Only one room! How could the director screw this up?"_

_"It is not the director Tony," Ziva told him, "the hotel overbooked."_

_Tony just sighed, "I'll take the floor."_

_Ziva smiled "You have never seen a European hotel room have you Tony?"_

_When they opened the door, Tony saw the problem. The room was small, postage stamp size. While it was all very nice with excellent furnishings, the bed was basically all that there was room for._

_Tony shook his head, "I've got to talk to the concierge about this!"_

_Ziva just laughed softly, "You do that Tony, I will take a shower."_

_"Why?" Tony asked, "You look pretty the way you are."_

_She turned around stunned but he was already walking out the door. _

**Today was a fairytale  
I wore a dress  
You wore a dark grey t-shirt  
You told me I was pretty  
When I looked like a mess  
Today was a fairytale**

_What was wrong with her? Ziva really wanted to know. Every smile, every look, everything Tony said today was making her feel…alive. She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, she didn't know what she wanted._

**Time slows down  
Whenever you're around**

_She still couldn't get that kiss out of her head. The feelings it had erupted…feelings she thought she would never find again. _

_Like when she first fell in love with Tony._

**Can you feel this magic in the air?  
It must have been the way you kissed me  
Fell in love when I saw you standing there  
It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale**

_Ziva smiled to herself in the bathroom mirror, well as long as the day was with her, might as well enjoy it. _

**It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale**

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_It had all been Tony's idea. As soon as she had been dressed and refreshed he had half dragged her out of the hotel. "Paris is calling my name and I'm not going to ignore it," he had said, not listening to her protests that they weren't there to indulge his love of traveling._

_Instead he had rented a moped and proceeded to drive around Paris, seeking out the locations he wanted to see most. And Ziva enjoyed the excuse to wrap her arms around him and press close against his back._

**Today was a fairytale  
You've got a smile that takes me to another planet  
Every move you make everything you say is right  
Today was a fairytale**

_It was sunset at a small little bistro that overlooked the Seine that ended Tony's tour. Ziva had spent a lot of the time apologizing in French to some of the locals he almost ran over in the moped and avoiding the lens of his camera in his attempts to get a picture of her. Despite what would seem like a hectic day, she had found it relaxing, so similar to the old days before Jeanne and before Michael._

_She took a bite of the buttery French bread that seemed to melt in her mouth, Tony was certainly right about the food._

_"You seem different," Tony spoke_

_Ziva dropped the bread on the plate, "I do not understand."_

_He held up a hand, "I'm not saying it's bad, you just seem happier, more comfortable then I've seen you in a long time."_

_She smiled, "Maybe it is Paris," she told him but thought _or maybe it is you.

**Today was a fairytale  
All that I can say  
Is now it's getting so much clearer  
Nothing made sense until the time I saw your face  
Today was a fairytale**

_Tony grinned and climbed onto the moped. He then held out his hand and put on a fake English accent, "Your chariot madam."_

_Ziva just shook her head and failed to hide her smile as she once again climbed on beside him, pressing close and smelling Tony's special scent as they made their way to the hotel._

**Time slows down  
Whenever you're around**

_They made their way back to their room as soon as they got back to the hotel. But they stopped in the doorway to their room. He was opening the doorway to the room when he turned back to look at her, but she was right next to him so now they were so close, too close._

_It was an electrifying moment, looking into his eyes. Mere inches of air separating them, she could reach up and kiss him, just like on the plane._

**But can you feel this magic in the air?  
It must have been the way you kissed me  
Fell in love when I saw you standing there  
It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale  
It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale**

_Ziva shook her head and took a step back, clearing her head. Tony opened the door letting them both in. "We still need to figure out what to do about tonight…sleep wise."_

_She stared at the bed, just big enough for two and couldn't believe what she said next. "We are both adults Tony, we can share a bed."_

_Tony looked surprised by her statement, "Are you sure about that."_

_Now she smiled seductively, "Unless you are afraid that I will not keep my hands to myself."_

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_Hours later she wished she hadn't said those words…it was increasingly hard _not _to touch him!_

_The air was electrified because of his presence, because they were sharing the bed, because not matter where she turned on bed, he was there._

_He was so close; his thigh touched hers, his breath tickling her ear. It was an intimate setting, one reserved for lovers. Something that they were not. She turned to look at him, realizing that if she ran her fingertips over his arm, pressed in close enough to him and whispered the right words in his ear…they could be._

_Lovers._

**Time slows down  
Whenever you're around**

_Ziva gently reached out with her hand, letting her fingers rest against his elbow before gently gliding them across his skin. Her heart raced and her breath grew ragged. Would she do it?_

**I can feel my heart  
It's beating in my chest**

_Tony shifted in his sleep, closer to Ziva. She ran her fingertips up over his arm and into his hair, letting her fingers glide through his hair like she always wanted. She leaned closer, ready to whisper those words into his ear._

_"Ziva."_

**Did you feel it?  
I can't put this down**

_Her name from his lips startled her. But looking down she saw that he was still asleep. Why had he said her name? Was he dreaming about her?_

_She liked that thought…liked it too much._

What am I doing?_ She thought and let herself drift back to her side of the bed. But nothing she could do could erase that smile from her lips._

_He had said her name._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_NCIS seemed paler and more bland when they got back, or maybe it was because Paris had been so filled with excitement and Ziva was afraid that things would go back to the way things were before…when she wasn't happy._

_That thought stayed with her throughout the day, even as she made her way out to her car. Tony was waiting outside of the building which surprised him._

"_Paris was something wasn't it?" He said with an odd look on his face, Ziva couldn't see what he was really thinking._

_She nodded, "Yes it was." _

_Ziva was about to leave when he grabbed her arm, "So about that kiss on the plane…I should have apologized, I didn't mean for it to get out of hand."_

_Her hard sank, "You did not like kissing me?"_

_Instead of shaking his head, Tony smiled sheepishly, "Well I can't say that I mean…that was some kiss!"_

_And then her heart beat faster once more._

"_I just didn't want to seem like I…I don't know what I'm saying now," he finally said tripping over his words._

"_You liked kissing me," Ziva finished and stepped closer to him, just like at the doorway to their hotel room in Paris._

_Tony nodded, "Yeah I did" And he looked deep into her eyes…as if searching for words…or seeking permission_

**But can you feel this magic in the air?  
It must have been the way you kissed me  
Fell in love when I saw you standing there  
It must have been the way**

_The door slammed opened and one of the techs from legal rushed out the door, startling both of them. Tony laughed bitterly and took a step away from Ziva…but she wasn't willing to let the moment end that way._

"_Paris was interesting," Ziva said immediately regretting her choice of words._

_"I felt different," she admitted, "I felt…happier…with you."_

_Tony's eyes brightened at her words, he had a sly smile on his lips as he stepped forward and she wondered if perhaps after all he would kiss her tonight._

_But he leaned in kissing her on the cheek, she was both disappointed and elated as his presence played havoc with her emotions. "Goodnight Ziva," he whispered._

**But can you feel this magic in the air?  
It must have been the way you kissed me  
Fell in love when I saw you standing there  
It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale  
It must have been the way  
Today was a fairytale**

_Ziva stood watching him walk away. She realized she was smiling again, smiling like a schoolgirl in love._

_For the first time in her life she wanted to be a teenager again, to be able to jump up and down and squeal with excitement at the joyful moment that had just occurred. Her heart felt like it would burst from happiness._

_She was still standing there when Abby walked up to her on her way to her hearse, "Hey Ziva," she said a little wearily, noticing the odd way Ziva was acting, "Are you okay."_

_"I have never felt better," Ziva answered truthfully, her thoughts were still on the past two days._

_Abby smiled, "I meant to ask you, how was Paris?"_

_Ziva almost laughed, how do you respond to that? Paris was the best day of her life, it was romantic, heart wrenching, exhilarating and sensual and all she wanted to do was relive those moments over and over again._

_Instead Ziva just shook her head with a smile on her lips and said, "It was a fairytale" before walking away leaving her friend stunned and confused wondering what the heck happened in France between the her two friends._

**Today was a fairytale**

* * *

A/N: Well I had to let them kiss for real after everyone wanted to kill me for having it be a dream in the chapter Fearless! LOL I just hope everyone doesn't hunt me down for what didn't happen in the bedroom in Paris.

Well this is the last chapter (maybe) before the final one, so if you guys have any more song suggestions this is your last chance (hint, Two Is Better Than One is already taken)

What are you waiting for? REview please.


	8. Two is Better Than One

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing

A/N: Well I'm here and here it is, the final chapter to Taylor Swift. I'm sad to see it go because it has been a lot of fun...but maybe it isn't over quite yet...but you'll have read the chapter before you find out ;-)

I love all of you guys and am thankful for all of the support and love you guys have shown for me.

This is a different chapter from the others, a different format and a different song. This song is a duet between the band Boys Like Girls and Taylor Swift, a song that made me think of Tony and Ziva immediatley and I knew it had to be the end for this particular tale.

* * *

Chapter 8: Two is Better Than One

Tony was bored.

It was one of those lulls between hot cases where the only thing to be done was finish signing off reports or tossing paper wads into McGee's wastebasket. Not that he didn't like showing off his NBA worthy skills, he just didn't feel like it at the moment.

McGee was busy doing something smart on a computer with Abby, Gibbs was off talking to the Director about one of their old cases going to trial; currently it was only him and Ziva in the squad-room.

Ziva was oblivious to his boredom, she was typing out something on the computer with her ear buds in happily consumed into what ever song she was listening to.

Probably another Taylor Swift song.

He shook his head, it had been weeks since he had first discovered that she had the blonde singer on her iPod, weeks of listening to her music, weeks of begging for an answer and weeks of insane theories and he still wasn't any closer to figuring the mystery out.

And there Ziva was, just listening to her iPod, keeping her secrets to herself.

_Wait a minute_ Tony thought_ if she's listening to Taylor Swift right now…then she must be in the right mood for her_. He could see Ziva right now, could see her body language and guess what she was feeling, if he knew what song she was listening to at the moment…maybe he could finally get a clue as to what she felt when she listened to the songs.

Maybe that was the problem. Whenever he heard the songs he had to relate to what Ziva must have been thinking of _in the past_. He'd never caught her in the present.

Now Tony was getting excited, he might finally be a step ahead of his partner!

If only Ziva would leave her desk so he could steal her iPod.

Tony decided to play it cool, he kept his eyes on his computer screen, even though it was blank, and acted like he was busy. Every now and then he would sneak a peek at Ziva to see if she was going to leave any time soon. As the minutes ticked by he got more and more anxious. _Come on, _He thought, _can't you just get a phone call or something?_

God must have been on his side. Not two seconds later Ziva's phone began to ring and vibrate across her desk. She quickly took out her ear buds and grabbed her phone, "Hello," she said into the phone and listened to a moment. A frustrated look came over her face, "Netty, slow down, you are talking too quickly." She listened again and spoke, "And then what happened?" Ziva's eyes widened at what ever her Aunt said next and she looked a little embarrassed, "I don't need to hear that! But you if you want to get the handcuffs off of him you will need…"

Ziva stopped and looked up from her desk to see Tony eagerly listening to every word, he looked like a kid in a candy window; he was just waiting for her to continue. "What's going on with Netty?" He asked with a big toothy grin, "I assume it's something kinky."

She glared at him but said to her aunt, "Excuse me a moment, I have another call." And then she stood up to leave her desk.

"Oh come on!" Tony said, "Don't leave me hanging."

But she just continued on to find a more private place away from Tony's eavesdropping.

Tony was tempted to follow her, he was curious to know the end of that little story with Ziva's eccentric relative. But he couldn't ignore the opportunity that was at hand to fulfill his first objective. Operation Taylor Swift was underway.

He oh so casually walked over to Ziva's desk, mindful of prying eyes, and quickly swiped the iPod from where it was resting and sauntered back to his side of the Squad Room. Once he was secure at his desk, he turned on the iPod to see what Ziva had been listening to when her phone rang.

The song was only half finished and to his surprise it wasn't actually Taylor Swift but a band named Boys Like Girls, a song called "Two is Better Than One".

Disappointed, Tony almost turned the device off until he noticed that the title of the song continued to scroll across the screen until the words, "featuring Taylor Swift" appeared.

YES!

Quick as a flash he restarted the song so he could listen and maybe finally figure out this whole thing.

The song started with a soft guitar introduction before a guy started singing:

**I remember what you wore on the first day  
You came into my life and I thought hey  
you know, this could be something**

_Not bad_, was the first thing Tony thought, it was had a nice soft rock quality that was pretty catchy.

But what did Ziva see in it?

**'Cause everything you do and words you say  
You know that it all takes my breath away  
And now I'm left with nothing**

For some reason Tony was reminded of when he and Ziva were in shipping container and she'd landed on top of him. "_Maybe if it were warmer."_ He'd actually believed her for a moment.

_Where did that come from?_

**So maybe it's true that I can't live without you**

Tony was stunned. Those had been his exact words in Somalia when he had gone looking for Ziva….

**And maybe two is better than one**

…when he had been lost without her

**But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life  
And you've already got me coming undone  
And I'm thinking two is better than one**

Tony had barely heard the rest of the chorus, now his mind was racing back in time to that desert prison where he had said entirely too much to Ziva…and felt something too real when he'd seen her alive.

"_Ziva's irreplaceable."_

**I remember every look upon your face**

"_Actually I was talking about you" and Ziva made a silly face expressing her irritation at him...and he just laughed._

**The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste  
You make it hard for breathing**

_He was stunned at the intensity of the kiss. What he had meant to be a quick kiss to end the cheering passengers on the plane was something else entirely…something passionate and sweet. _

_Something that had him begging for more._

What the hell is this song doing to me? Tony wanted to know, where were these memories coming from?

**'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away  
I think of you and everything's okay  
I'm finally now believing**

How many times had he dreamed about Ziva? God that night in Paris was still haunting him whenever he fell asleep. How many times had he wondered what would have happened if he had just reached over and…

No! He was not going to go down this road; he couldn't believe what was happening! He needed to stop the song.

But he had to hear more.

**That maybe it's true that I can't live without you**

_"Tony why are you here?" Here eyes were tired…and begging for an answer. He wished he hadn't had truth serum because he couldn't help but say._

_"Couldn't live without you."_

**And maybe two is better than one**

_"So you will die with me." _

**But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life  
And you've already got me coming undone**

_"You should have left me alone."Her voice was dry and sad and once more he couldn't stop words from escaping._

_"I tried…I couldn't"_

**And I'm thinking two is better than one**

There was a break for the music as the song worked up into an intense bridge of piano keys and drums. But not a break for Tony's thoughts.

_"Do you ever think about soul mates?"_

_"I'm tired of pretending" "So am I."_

_"It was inevitable." "Nothing is inevitable"_

_"You jeopardized your entire career for what?" "__For you__"_

**I remember what you wore on the first day  
You came into my life and I thought, hey**

_"Hi…I was just" He grappled for words at what to say to make this situation better but the woman in front of him just smiled and stepped forward_

_"Having phone sex."_

**Maybe it's true that I can't live without you  
Maybe two is better than one**

_"__The man you were becoming needs a woman!"_

**There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life  
And you've already got me coming undone**

"_Didn't you tell me that the heart wants what it wants?" He asked her.  
"No, actually I didn't."Her voice was firm in her stance  
"Well it does."  
"Well it shouldn't."She said angrily…as if talking about someone else._

**And I'm thinking, ooh, I can't live without you**

"_Nora was right. I found my favorite picture, and it's the only one with someone in it.  
_**'Cause, baby, two is better than one**

"_I was just gonna tussle your hair. Sometimes it makes you smile."_

**There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life  
But I figured out when all is said and done**

"_I could not afford to trust you" She told him, and he wondered about that emphasis of placing him in the same sentence as someone she might have loved._

"_You have always had my back"_

**Two is better than one**

_"I'm sorry Ziva."_

_"No it is I who is sorry" she said softly before stepping forward and putting a hand to his face. She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his cheek._

**Two is better than one**

The song faded away as it ended and the screen switched back to the iPod menu automatically.

But Tony didn't move, didn't blink, didn't even breathe.

He just stared at the device on his desk that he wasn't even seeing.

Finally he just uttered one word.

"Whoa."

* * *

Ziva tried ignore Tony as she finish her work but it was hard to stop looking over at him. He wasn't even saying anything for once but was just sitting at his desk, his hand against his cheek with one finger reaching to his temple.

Tony hadn't stopped looking at her for over an hour. He was just staring at her and for the life of her Ziva couldn't figure out why. It wasn't anything on her, no food on her clothing or anything embarrassing, she'd checked! He just kept his eyes on her, following her every movement.

It was enough to drive her insane.

"What is it Tony?" She finally asked, not able to take it any longer.

But he didn't say anything for a while, just continued to look at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. Wherever his mind was it was no where near the NCIS building.

"A white shirt."

She looked up startled by his voice, "What?"

"A white shirt with a brown jacket and tan cargo pants…you also had a gray purplish wrap thingy around your head that you pulled off in this…sexy way." Tony's voice trailed off.

Ziva looked at him confused, "What are you saying?"

He smiled, "That's what you wore the day we met…I remember."

Ziva was taken aback. She didn't know why Tony had started babbling about the clothing she had worn many years ago…but she was touched that he remembered.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, her voice was softer now.

He just smiled, "I just wanted you to know."

Tony stood up from his desk and grabbed his backpack "Night Ziva," he said before walking towards the elevator. She watched him go, but then he paused and ran back to her desk, "I almost forgot!" he said and handed her iPod back to her.

She was still stunned so she didn't question why he had her property but she turned it on to see the song that he must have listened to last.

Ziva remembered the lyrics to the song, particularly the first lines "I remember what you wore on the first day" and her eyes widened in shock.

Quickly she stood up and rushed toward the elevator before it closed with iPod in hand but she was too late.

But she made it in time to see Tony smiling at her as the doors closed, a knowing smile that made her heart race.

She slowly walked back to her desk, _Could he have meant…?_

Ziva didn't know the answer but knew what the song he was listening to and what he had said…maybe he had just been teasing her, or maybe…

_It could_, she decided, _it could mean he was thinking of me._

But she wasn't ready to find out.

Ziva picked up the iPod and let the music play, she smiled as the music began. She may not know…but for once she felt real hope.

For once…she knew it could be real.

* * *

A/N: And that is it. I know some of you will be sad that I didn't end it with TOny and Ziva declaring their love for each other but I wasn't sure if that was right for this particular story. This story was about Tony realizing his feelings for Ziva...just like she realized her feelings for him.

Still, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing, that there was more to tell.

Then I kept getting all of these FABULOUS song requests, so many that I loved but couldn't fit in, so many that I got a ton of ideas for. I was originally just going to post extra chapters...but then...Something happened.

A new idea.

So all of those songs I didn't get to add or you didn't get to ask for...well maybe I can find room in the sequal.

Yes there will be a sequal to this story, with MORE songs, MORE flashbacks and MORE Tiva goodness. I've already got A TON in mind but I need more songs.

So your assignment is to request as many Taylor Swift songs as you can, but I'm warning you, there are some songs that I already know I'm going to do, so there really isn't anypoint in requesting them.

In the sequal you will definately see:

1. "Mine" Taylor's newest single and it is FABULOUS, I had to add it in!

2. "Invisible" someone requested this song a long time ago and I fell in love with it, I couldn't fit it in here but it made it to the sequal

3. "Sparks Fly" another song that was requested and didn't make it in here, but I'm adding it in the sequal (and I can't wait to hear when it is released in Taylor's new album coming out in October!)

4. "The Outside" a little known song of Taylor's that I can't wait to use

5. "Love Story" one of my personal favorites, it broke my heart when I couldn't think of a way to use it...but I've remedied that situation.

But I want more! So please help me out and tell me what songs you want to hear.

And please tell me what you thought of this final chapter to Taylor Swift!


End file.
